The Lion King: The Fourth Age
by joevil2025
Summary: Not long after Jake has become king we follow the story of his son. A long time ago Jake predicted the end of their world, and yet even before that Rafiki predicted that Jake's son would save the world.
1. Preview

Lion King The Fourth Age: preview

A year has passed, and Tatter is growing up, we will now follow this new young prince on his hard path into adult hood and kingship, as well as the continuing story of his father, and all of the pride land. For it was Rafiki that once predicted that the sons of Jake would save the world, and yet, it was Jake who predicted the world end. Can they change fate? Can they stop Armageddon?


	2. Chapter 1

The Lion King: Fourth Age

Ch1

The yellow lion cub was running down the seemingly endless hallways looking for his father, he never thought the cave would ever be this big, his eyes where wide with worry as he heard his mom scream behind him, the circles that surrounded his eyes only helped exaggerate the expression. Tatter finally skidded to a stop in the main chamber where his father, the king of the land, seemed to be having a joyous talk with the aging Horn Bill of the cave.

Tatter had grown into a nicely kept seven year old lion cub, his father had been king for less than a year but to tatter it had seemed he always had been. In the past three years his father had taught him how to talk, stalk, and more importantly have fun. But today none of these where the worries of the young cub as he skidded into the main chamber.

"And I'm telling you it's finally happened, I think this means I can now retire." Zazu smiled.

Jake laughed "Yeah, I guess it does."

Zazu looked over the king's shoulder, "Well good noon master Tatter, you ok?"

Jake looked strangely at the young cub, he could almost sense the worry in his son. "It's mom! I think something wrong!"

This got a reaction from his father, the large lion bounded right over his son, who took a minute to start moving again himself. He followed his father into their sleeping chambers, his mom was now crying in pain, her teeth baring and gritting against themselves. She eyed her husband warily. "I hate you for this." She lied.

Sara was gripping her extended belly; Jake put his ear up against it, and then touched it, "Is it time?"

She shook her head yes.

"But it's too early! Are you sure?"

"I'm pretty sure." She growled at him, and then moaned again as she contracted.

"God Riki's not even here, where going to have to do this ourselves." Then he let out a kingly roar and two of their servants entered the chamber, becoming wide eyed when they saw what was happening and came over the help.

Jake nodded to the oldest female, "You come over here and help with the process," he nodded to the younger teen lioness, "You keep an eye on my son while this is happening."

The youngest, Konya, was a long time baby sitter if Tatters, she sat next to him and patted him on the head and he looked up to her worried. "Is my mommy going to be ok?"

She laughed, "She'll be quite alright, you're just getting a new baby to play with." She said playing with the hair on his head.

His eyes brightened and his ears finally came up off his head, "I'm getting a brother!?"

She laughed again, "Possibly, we'll have to see." The servant winced as Sara screamed again, loud.

Buy the end of the nerve racking experience Tatter did have a new little brother, as his mother cradled and cleaned it he was let over to see it. His father sat proud next to his wife, his little brother was so tiny and seemingly tried to keep pushing into his mother as she cleaned him.

"I haven't felt like this since seven years ago." Jake said patting Tatter's head.

"What happened then?" he asked looking up at his father, who chuckled.

"Why you where born."

In the end they named his new brother Lien after one of his father's past friends from his childhood, but Lien didn't get the same blessing he had once gotten from the shaman, that was always reserved the next in the royal line to get the seat of king.

Five days later Tatter met up with his best friend while his mom looked after Lien, and his father was out in the land doing his duties, of course Konya still followed him around. His friend's name was Ront, he was actually a couple of years older than the prince, but he had always been there to play push the rock once his dad taught it to them. Other than his young mane the lion had another feature, a scar around his eye and a permanently half close eyelid.

Tatter had never gotten an explanation of how he had gotten it, but today as they sat out on pride rock watching some antelope graze he couldn't stop staring.

"You know I _don't_ like it when you stare at it like that." Ront said looking away.

Tatter looked down to his paws embarrassed, and starting kicking at some stones near buy.

"You just want to know don't you?"

Tatter looked back up and nodded.

"I guess your old enough; I got this scar proving I was a man around your age." He looked over to the North West, towards the dark part of the pride lands, "In one of the forbidden territories."

Tatter gasped, "You don't mean?"

The older lion nodded, his dark red main starting to whip up in the wind, further towards the south dark clouds had started to rise into the sky. "That's right, the Elephant Graveyard. Only the bravest of lions go there, don't you want to prove to your father what a brave lion you have become?" he grinned.

Tatter looked at him, at his scar, and then back at the forbidden land they spoke off, and then back at Konya who wasn't watching them but would notice him taking off. "Well, my dad said I shouldn't, but then maybe it's a test." He started to pace. "Either way how am I going to ditch her?" He said nodding to Konya

Ront got up and walked over to the side of the tall cliff of pride rock, "You leave that to me. Oh, ow, the pain!" he said, and went over.

There was a large gasp from behind him and Konya shot up and over to the ledge, below the young lion lie motionless. "My god!" she looked back at the prince, her eyes wide, "Tatter, what did you do? What have I done? I wasn't watching, oh god." She started to pace, "oh god Tatter stay right here!" she said and bounded down pride rock and around the corner; as soon as she disappeared he started down as well.

Konya crept up to the lion, and nudged him, his left undamaged eye, the one towards the sky, opened with a cool expression on it. "My god, are you alright."

The kid sat up and yawned, "What? Yeah, I jump off that cliff all the time." He grinned.

She eyed him, "You son of a bitch, you had me worried, come on, lets go back up."

But atop pride rocks ledge it was empty, "Tatter?" she called, looking at Ront suspiciously.

He shrugged, "Probably got bored and wandered off."

She looked at him, looked around, and then back at him, and then at his scar, and as a realization dawned on her she looked past him over his shoulder to the Elephant Graveyard in the distance. "You didn't!"

He looked around an innocent look on his face, "I _don't _know what you're talking about."

Her nose was to the air, and then to the ground, his scent disappeared down pride rock and in the right direction, "My god, Ront, how could you?"

Her eyes where wide with worry again, she had to do something, and fast. Ront just laughed, "He'll be fine."

She shook her head, "No, don't you remember what happened when we went there!?" she yelled at him.

He shrugged, "Not really, but you know, where still alive and your unscathed so it couldn't have been that bad."

"You unbelievable bastard!" She had him backed up against the ledge again, "Don't you realize what you have done. God where going to be in such trouble." She started down pride rock then turned back, "Get the king! I gotta go find him before he gets himself killed!"

"What, the king? Me?" Ront backed off the ledge a little and away from Konya.

She went after him and fiercely clawed his paw stopping him in place, "If _anything _happens to the prince because of your ignorance and you didn't lift a finger to help, you won't have to wait for the king's judgment, I'll kill you myself." She let him go and then quickly followed the scent of the young prince.

Tatter thought he had gotten himself lost, the pride lands looked so much larger to a young cub from below pride rock, the grasses where so much taller than him he couldn't even see his home any more. Just then a little white rabbit came out of the brush and scratched its ear, right in front of some bushes and then disappeared into the bushes. Tatter licked his chops, he had no idea where home was and he was going to miss lunch.

Starting after the rabbit he thought he saw it in the bushes and pounced, he ended up pouncing empty air and fell onto a slippery slope which he tumbled down onto a grey foul smelling land. He looked up and almost screamed when he stared into a giant face. Steeling himself he realized he must have somehow ended up in the grave yard and he was peering into a giant elephant skull. "That's fine" he assured himself, "This is where I wanted to end up anyway."

A laugh startled him and he jumped turning and scooting backwards, a large hyena lady was carrying a dead rabbit in her mouth. "Well if the god's aren't just the giving ones today." She laughed.

"Yeah" another male hyena laughed next to her, "I guess that means I get to eat too?"

The other one laughed again, setting down the rabbit, "Sure this is yours, I get the good stuff!"

Ront found the king chatting away with a scout not too far from pride rock, his eyes where solemn and his ears where down, his tail between his legs, as he crept up to the king, getting a wary look from the scout.

"Well make sure you get that taken care off." The king said before turning to him, "What can I do for you Ront?"

Ront looked away from the king, "Sir, I think I did something terrible."

Konya entered the dark waist lands from the other side, she had been in this place only once before when she herself and Ront had been curious cubs. Ront had been permanently maimed buy the experience, but they had been saved buy Sara, who was at the time the princess, and the Jake even before he was a prince.

She tried to sniff out the cub but the smells in this place where to confusing, and dank, it smelled like death and hyena, and several other things she didn't want to think about. She knew that if she alerted any hyenas to her presence she'd be dead, so she crept around the place, looking for hide or hair of the prince.

Tatter awoke, his face hurt extremely bad, there was allot of blood dripping down his snout in almost a straight red line. He touched it, there was a large gash running from his forehead just above the eyes, where it was wide and diamond shaped, to just before the end of his snout, narrowing to a point. There was a laugh from behind him.

"You didn't kill him!" the male hyena laughed as he finished his rabbit.

The female hyena rounded the corner, "good, I like fresh meat."

Tatter leapt to his feet and then stumbled as his vision blurred and his head grew heavy, the last thing he thought he'd ever see was the female hyena licking her chops and coming closer. But out of nowhere there was a large roar as a young lioness leapt over him and caught the female hyena in her jaws.

Konya broke the hyenas neck and the other one went running, no honor amongst scavengers apparently. She looked back to the young prince, there was allot of blood all over his face and he looked sick. "My god what did they do to you?" She went over to him and tried to lick some of the blood off but it wouldn't stop bleeding, finally the young prince fainted, and she just picked him up, while the scent of lion wasn't so prominent in here, sooner or later the hyena's would pick up the scent of blood.

Jake bounded over the land the fastest he had ever ran in his entire life, it was in fact the most scared he had ever been, he hadn't even been this scared whenever his life was at stake. He had forgone scolding the young lion to rush to his son's aid; he just prayed he wasn't too late.

When he came upon the entrance the young Konya appeared at the entrance carrying his son, there was allot of blood gushing from his head as she sat him down. He came over to his son, Tatter was motionless, and Jake was all panicky all of a sudden, his training, his year of kingship, everything flew out the window. He nudged his son and began to cry, he looked almost accusingly to Konya, who he noted had started up as well, "I'm sorry sir, it's all my fault, I should have kept an eye on him."

Jake just shook his head in disbelieve and then picked up his son, rushing for pride rock, not sure what to do, assuring himself in dismay that he might loose his son tonight, not days after gaining another. Ront had sat outside pride rock on the ledge, somehow feeling he wasn't welcome inside it anymore. Therefore other than the guards he was the first to see the king approaching fast from the distance, when the king climbed to the top ledge he eyed the lion with disgust and sat down his bleeding son. "Look what you've done!" he yelled hysterical, "You've killed my son!"

Coming out to see what all the racket was a trio of lionesses gasped, "Tatter!?" Sara screamed rushing to her son, behind her Kiara carried her other grandson, her eyes wide, Mattie followed Sara to Tatter's side.

"Oh god." Sara moaned looking at her maimed son, not sure what to do, being rose as a princess she wasn't taught much, But Mattie came up to her grandson and licked the wound in one long hard stroke, grimacing at the taste of nothing but blood.

Below her the lion cub moaned as the saliva began to work and sting on the wound. Mattie nodded, "It looks like he'll live," she nodded to Sara, "Stay out here and keep cleaning the wound until it stops bleeding, saliva works wonders while healing, not all of us had a shaman to rely on when we where growing up or watching our sons grow up, goodness knows Brae and Jake got into their share of trouble." She turned towards the cave, "Davine!" she yelled.

An extremely large lion came bounding out of pride rock, Davine had stopped growing the time he was twice the size of any normal lion, and he had also ended up leading the royal guard, but if there's one thing he had learned was to never not to listen to the elders of the cave, especially his aunt. The muscle bound lion eyed warily his little cousin buy blood, who sat unconscious on the ledge and very wounded, Sara had already began to work on the wound some more. "What happened?"

"Long story," Mattie said, "and I'm not sure exactly either, but we need you to fetch Riki, we need a more professional judge on site, now!"

At this Davine bounded down pride rock and ran for the trees.

When Tatter's eyelid was pushed open he began to wake, at first his vision was very blurry but when it cleared he stared into the faces of a baboon and a dark furred lion with a silky yellow mane. "Uncle Brae?" He said trying to stand, but he was still wobbly, and his mom held him down.

Riki laughed and clapped, the monkey was always too cheerful, "he'll be fine aside from a little scarring, should be a lesson to him, what you think?" He said turning to Brae.

The lion nodded, "I agree, no meds needed, you're doing fine Sara."

Ever since Brae's brother had become king he had tried to find something to make of himself, eventually he talked Riki into letting him into his usually monkey only med and magic classes, and he had become one of Riki's top students.

Later that night Tatter awoke again to his father who stood next to him, they where next to the window his parents insisted sleeping buy all the time, a window into the world and now a window into the star ridden sky. He touched his face and winced, all the hair was gone from where the scar remained, and it still hurt pretty badly.

"Are you feeling better my son?" Jake asked, he seemed a little weird to the cub.

The cub stood unsteadily, "I guess so."

"Good" suddenly his father's eyes where ablaze with fire, anger filled every feature of his face. "What the _fuck_ where you thinking!" his father yelled at him as he marched towards him, Tatter tried to shrink into himself, he just succeeded in lying back down.

"Dad, I." Tatter started his eyes wide and his ears back.

"You could have gotten yourself killed! Look at you now, that's permanent!" he pointed at his sons face, "and you worried me half to death! Don't you have any sense of right or wrong!?" He yelled.

"But dad."

"DON'T BACKTALK ME!" he growled to his son, but Sara was finally in the room.

"That's enough!" she sad, and her husband turned from their son, staring out too the stars, Sara turned to her son, "What you did was wrong Tatter, _don't _ever do that again!"

Tatter began to cry, "I heard enough mom, I know."

Sara just gave him a hurt look; she hadn't meant to make him cry. Jake sighed, "I'm sorry son, I didn't mean to be like that, I guess I got a bit of my father in me after all, albeit I sounded just like the fucker when he…" he stared down at his paws, "I didn't… just hit you or anything did I?" He looked concerned at his son, he couldn't have remembered yelling at him now, it had all been anger induced.

Tatter shook his head, and Jake walked over to his son, and nuzzled him, who after a reluctant moment nuzzled his father back. "Why did you do that son?"

Tatter began to cry again, "I was just trying to prove I was big."

"What?" his father laughed.

"Well Ront said…" then he stopped, realizing he had said too much.

His father scowled, and looked towards the outer chamber, "That reminds me." He walked out, Tatter right on his heels.

The king and prince sat in the center as the king stared down the two teens that where now sitting in front of him. Ront turned his head to the side and Konya just stared at the floor

"You must make eye contact with me. Without pride you will never make it in the outside world." Jake told them.

Konya just whimpered and a tear fell from her eye, she already knew what was coming, Ront eventually gave him a hesitant stare.

"What you have done was atrocious!" the king roared at them making Ront wince, Konya just tried to keep her composure, still not looking at the king. "My son may have died!"

"Dad, it wasn't…" Tatter started but he was cut off buy his father.

"You are hereby under law of the land banished from pride rock, forever!" at this Konya just began to weep.

Ront eyed her sympathetically and then fingered his own scar, and then stood up and stared straight at the king; it was a challenge of his command, "Sir! This is wrong, it isn't her fault! I was the one who tricked her _I _was the one who talked Tatter into going to the graveyard, leave her out of this!"

The king shook his head, "You've both lived here long enough to know that's _not_ how things are run, hell you've lived in pride rock longer than I have. I'm sorry, but Konya, you are also relieved of any servant duties to the royal family as pertained buy your parents." He then turned to a scout who sat nearby, "Escort them to their new home."

From somewhere behind the prince and king a lioness wept, but they did nothing as the trio left.

Down south outside a cave Rigger had grown into a rough yet noble adult lion, despite being maneless. His wife Maggie had also lost some weight and looked better than ever. Their children had grown quite large, Pyre was heading into her teens in a year or two, the other was getting there, they where only a few years apart. When the trio had reached the cave the moon had started to rise and outside the cave, Rigger, and a scarred lion, Nairo, whose fur had mostly grown back but still showed his scarring, met the two young teens.

The scout nodded to Rigger and headed off back for pride rock. Rigger stepped up to the two who wouldn't look at him, the lioness was still crying a little, forced from her home, he knew exactly how bad that felt at such a young age. The lion had yet to even shed a tear but he looked the worse for wear anyway.

"Young lions forced from there homes because they did something they weren't suppose to do, weather it was stupid, smart, brave, or cowardly, it doesn't matter here." Rigger told them, finally buying there attention, "You are home, a home for lions who have been cast out from there own families and homes, we where all outcasts once, as was your king." He nodded them in, Nairo just nodded to them; he was the cave watchman for the night.

As the month went buy Tatter eventually grew all his hair back over the scar, but it was and slightly darker orange, in the shape of the scar. One day he followed his father out to pride rock as they looked over the land, "You know I don't think I've taught you even half of what I should've," he said looking over the land, "and I think its time someone better suited to the task taught you all the normal little things of life."

He looked at his dad in the sunrise, he was such a noble looking king, his eyes helped him look more intelligent than the King gave himself credit for. "What are you talking about dad?"

Jake eyed a group of young lions lead buy an older lioness, "I've signed you up for classes."

Tatter laughed, "What dad? School? Royalty doesn't go to school!"

Jake laughed and headed back into the caves, "They do when there father's are ignorant boobs, I might be king now son but I wasn't risen as one, I was risen on the land to the north, and to the south, I'm not royal buy blood like you, and I buy god was barely taught buy your grandfather before he died, I know only the simplest of royal things, and there I guess your mom can help us. But as far as the normal ways of life go, even my mother was too busy to teach me after my father died."

"But, dad!" Tatter wined.

Jake shook his head, "No buts mister, or your heading to bed, either way the classes I signed you up for will have allot of the kids from pride rock in it and your cousin pyre in it, you'll be fine."

"Aw man…"

A week later classes started, and Tatter sat in the middle of a dozen lions, closest to Pyre, while his father was correct, some where from pride rock, Pyre was the only lion he truly knew despite her out aging him a little.

The teacher was a young male lion with a limp in his step, "Settle down kids, we got a long day ahead of us and I'm sure we'd all like to be back with our families for dinner." He called to them and everyone sat staring at him.

"Okay, I'm not sure how much you're parents taught you, why don't we start with this, how many know about the most important knowledge of all, a knowledge of respect, of our humbling power and the even more humbling power of nature, how many of you know about the circle of life?" He asked eyeing the crowd.

Only pyre, the oldest of the group, raised her hand.

"We'll, I guess we start from the beginning." He grabbed and pricked up a blade of grass and held it, and started, "From this grass, to a bee, to the birds into the sky, to the antelopes, to me and you, and back to the ground once we die, this is the circle of life. There is no top of the food chain in reality for if we are counted as the top wouldn't that make the lowest of the low above us since we feed them?" He asked, the class nodded, some of them understanding. Class went on like that until finally it was lunch. The teacher than began teaching them how to hunt, and brang down an antelope for dinner. That's when he noticed her, a shining dark furred lioness about his age, she had picked a piece of her meat and went away from the group to eat it, he ripped off a piece himself and sat down next to her.

"What do you want?" She sneered at him.

He was taken back buy that, "I- I uh just saw you sitting over here, and I thought."

"You thought you'd just come over here and make some moves on me, well listen my little ugly prince, I'm _not _that easy!" she scoffed picked up her food and walked away from him.

He fingered his scar, "Ugly?"

Pyre and two guys from pride rock came over, one of them elbowed him, "Listen dude, don't let her get you down, that princess act of a gal is Summer, a lion from the southern plains, _she _picks her friends and _no one _approaches her, not someone you really want to get to know now is it?"

He shook his head, "I guess not, but she's just so pretty."

The other lion shook his head as he snuck a piece of tatter's meat, "Yep, she is that, but I guess she'll choose who thinks that too."

But Tatter wasn't done yet, he wanted her, she was the untouchable and they'd become friends no matter what, or at least that's what he thought.

The year went on and it rolled around to his eighth birthday, the relation ship between him and the dark lioness was no different from before, and he just finally gave in on trying to talk her down off her high horse. He learned allot from class, and from his friends, he grew to know them all as friends, well most of them at least, he thought one day. One week the class's teacher decided they where going to hold a play in commemoration of the late King Simba, and they decided despite the dark hair around his scar and his eyes, Tatter was going to play Simba when he was little, when they heard him sing a little they just where assured it'd grow into a hit. So for three months they practiced, some of the actors where kids, some of them pretending to be other animals, some of them where adults, most of the adults plaid Mufasa, older Simba, Older Nala, the like. And to his liking younger Nala was plaid buy none other than Summer, the prettiest girl of the class.

Finally the day of the performance came and a great number of lions and lionesses came to see, including his family of course. He plaid Simba from birth on, he let the lioness he didn't eve know clean him, and then a monkey from Riki's school held him up while the other lions pretending to be other animals roared his false praise. These got a small laugh and cheer out of the crowd, while a big blush out of him. There was what was considered his big number when he sang "I can't wait to be king," written buy his teacher. There was a scene he wasn't too comfortable with when they walked into the fake graveyard together, him and Summer, and had to fend off some fake hyenas until the lion playing Mufasa came in and rescued them. There was the stampede that killed Mufasa and the dark lion that plaid Scar outcast Simba. Then there was his last big number in the jungle along with the lions that plaid the Tumon and Pumba, and he walked off stage replaced buy the older Simba actor that told him he had done a good job.

He then turned to congratulate Summer on a good Nala and she scoffed and turned on him. He eyed her curiously, "You _really _don't like me do you?"

She rolled her eyes, "Nah, what made you think that?"

His heart was saddened a little but he had always expected that, "Ok, I understand, I'll leave you alone." He mumbled and walked off. The next time Tatter entered the stage he bowed unsmiling as the play cast bowed for there performance, he did smirk though when he saw his dad cheering as loud as he cold, despite the king got front row seating.

The end of the play had come at night fall, on the way back to pride rock his dad kept humming his son's big number about being king, and moving to the beat. "God that was a good play, I haven't even seen one since I moved from the ravine, your teacher is a genius, he'll _have _to do another one, one day."

From then on, and after giving up on Summer, Tatter's school years went buy smooth, he learned even more about the land, and buy the time he reached ten he had already learned how to take down pray more his size. One day after class he was sitting with a few of his classmates during noon drinking from a river near his father's first house, class had ended early, when one of them sniffed into the air. Looking up into the clear sky he commented on how he could smell rain.

As they watched clouds formed quickly over there heads seemingly from no where, Tatter held his belly, something didn't feel right. "Guys we ought a go home."

Another lion laughed, "It's just a storm, besides, plenty of tree's here to take the lightning from us, we'll be fine."

The one who had noticed the rain looked worriedly towards the prince as noon became as dark as dusk, "No, I think he's right." He said.

Lighting tore open the sky, and the waters let rip, "Crap!" another one said.

"Come" Tatter told them, "Pride Rock's the closest to us; we should be able to make it without to much fuss."

They where wrong though, not halfway they hid under a tree, the rain was almost enough to drown them there, one lioness was complaining about breathing problems, and that's when it hit, a deep feeling in the pit of his stomach, what he didn't realize, what his teacher hadn't even taught him, was the ability every animal on this planet had to sense the worse of lows, the worse of the storms, like all animals lions became irritated, sick feeling, even clumsy when one passed, and as the rain parted, Tatter knew something was incredibly wrong.

"My god." The lion behind him gasped, as something that sounded like a hundred elephants stampeded towards them.

Tatter looked back and eyed a massive cloud that touched the ground and destroyed everything around and inside of it, a tree landed not too far from them. "What is that!?"

None of the lions knew what it was, it was something they had never experienced in their life, the group of five where horrified buy the ungodly mass of destruction. Tatter eyed it, "It's, coming closer, what do we do!?"

A cub lioness made a run for it before the others could stop her, and disappeared through the brush, "maybe she's got the right idea." A lion said.

But tatter eyed the mass as it bared down on them, the tree they where beneath wiped back and forth, "No! It's moving too fast, grab the tree, and grasp for dear life!" he said digging his nails into the wooden trunk.

"What? Are you crazy!" another lion protested, but looking back towards the approaching storm they all did as they where told.

And it hit, at first it tried to pick Tatter up, and he heard several screams become more distance, but he then dug his rear claws into the tree as well as the wind ripped at him, something whacked him on the back and he cried out in pain. Then the lion next to him was stripped from the tree with a cry, and he clawed the lion with his right paw, his paw dug deep into the other lion's paw, but the lion just cried for him not to let go, he didn't, but it was a useless attempt anyway, the wind still pulled the other lion and Tatters premature claws ripped through vein and small bones as the lion flew away screaming.

When Tatter opened his eyes again no one was left around the tree, there was one of his school friends lying motionless in the field not far from him, her eyes where rolled up in death. He sat against the tree and looked at his paw which carried another lion's last living moments on it, soaked in blood, and he cried into his clean paw, and he yelled, he yelled for his father. With no answer he cried for his father again, then for his mother, all he wanted to do was go home, his head grew weary, and he curled into a ball crying to himself.

Nairo and Brae where part of the clean up duty after whatever had passed, had passed, so far they had found three dead lions from the school group that had been with their prince, and Brae feared for his nephew. The sun began to set and he pushed his main out of his face as the cool night winds began to pick up, they where tracing the path the deadly finger of destruction had made, and finally made it to a lone tree not too far from the river near a home Brae didn't really have a memory of.

"God no," Nairo sighed nodding towards the tree.

Below the tree lie the cub prince, seemingly motionless, his right paw was red and crusted with blood. While his scarred friend stayed his respective distance Brae walked up to his nephew in the dying light. When he was on top of the cub the cub shifted, and then opened his eyes.

Out of the foggy dream state he had cried himself into Tatter woke to the golden mane of his uncle shining in the dying light. As the sun set he sat up, it was his uncle and he wasn't hallucinating, he began to cry again as he tried to grip onto his uncles main, who held him close and comforted him. The trio walked back to pride rock.

The disaster had been so wide spread over his land, killing over twenty lions here alone, and then moving on beyond the pride's land, that Jake hadn't been able to leave to look for his son, but between meetings and command Jake kept atop the ledge of pride rock, watching over the lands. When he saw his cousin and brother appear with Tatter he sighed s deep breath of relief, and climbed down to meet his son.

Almost as soon as he saw his dad upon him his dad was cuddling and nuzzling him, he doubt his dad noticed how bad he felt, he kept apologizing about forcing him to take that class, and his Uncle Brae and Nairo left them. Finally Tatter just leaned into his father, and started to snore, he was exhausted.

Jake smiled warmly at his son, and picked up the young cub, at ten he was getting big, but it'd be a cold day in hell when Jake couldn't treat his son like his son, and he'd carry him even when he was old enough to be king if he had to on his shoulders. When he sat his son down in the chambers Sara and the other lionesses where asleep, and he noted the stain on his sons paw, instead of making the lionesses get up and disturbing them he gave his son a bath, something he hadn't really done before, and something he thought brang him closer to Tatter than ever, and when he was done he laid his head across his son and fell asleep himself.

Tatter woke in the morning with his father protectively cradling him under his neck, he didn't remember much of what had happened but apparently someone rescued him. It was early, the sun hadn't even rose yet, but the moon had already set and the stars where beginning to disappear. In the cave slept his parents, grandparents, uncle, and even his father's friend Nairo whom he couldn't fathom for the reason being there.

Tatter slipped from his father's protective sleep, who made a slight groan in protest, and crept out the cave, only the cave guard who nodded to the prince saw him go out. Outside it was humid yet cool, the moisture in the air made his nose tickle and he sneezed. He stared at the paw that had torn into his classmate, it had been cleaned, but he could still feel what it was like.

Everything this morning as the light just peaked over the land seemed fresher and newer to him, like a near death experience that wasn't of his control just awoke everything. He could smell the dew, the moisture in the air, the lions that slept near, everything had its own unique smell and it was as if he was smelling it for the fist time. As he stared upon the land a lioness from pride rock came out, nodded to him and headed out for the morning, and he decided that day he'd just sit there and see how life went on, it was the first time he had taken time just to watch.

While he didn't force Tatter to attend Jake attended the funerals for the three lionesses that where from pride rock. The lifeless bodies where not more than cubs, two of them where around his sons age, one of them was younger, it was sad to see such life cut off at such a young age and yet it made him angry that in times like these he was powerless to make a difference. Buy the time all the proceedings where over and he watched several lions bury the girls it was a quarter till noon, and he traveled back to pride rock, today he planned to do nothing but spend the day with his son.

When he arrived on pride rock he gave his son an odd look, Tatter was busy watching the land and all the people passing with such curiosity, and not moving an inch, it was strange for his son. "You ok?" he approached him cautiously trying to look at everything his son was.

"Yeah, just relaxing."

Jake sat next to his son nodding, watching what his son was, "Kind of eye opening wasn't it."

Tatter shook his head, "I don't really wanna talk about it." He stared at a lioness who sat her son down outside to clean him. She gave both of them an odd look and then went to work, and Jake looked away a little embarrassed.

Zazu came walking out of the cave and looked strangely at the duo, father mimicking son, as well, then walked up to the king. "Sire… I uh… need help."

Jake laughed his hearty laugh, "Of course" he said, he nudged his son who rubbed up against him back and then went on watching, "You need anything you ask."

Tatter watched until the sunset, until that one lioness who took off in the morning was back during the end of twilight. A tear fell from his eye but his face kept its composure, somehow, somewhere, in this cubs little heart, he began to understand things on the grander scale of life.

The next morning his dad came to him just as Tatter was about to leave for class.

"You know." He said, "I'm not nor will ever be forcing you again. You don't have to go to classes anymore."

Tatter gave it a moments thought and eyed on of the cubs around his age that was heading for his class, "You know dad, no. I want to go, I feel now I need to learn, but thanks."

As tatter walked off his father watched him with pride, his little boy was growing up and all he had to do was almost die a second time.

In class today wasn't anything interesting, there was council from the teacher for anyone who had been emotionally scarred buy the events from day before yesterday yet the one cub that would have needed it didn't. After that they learned about the efforts and rewards of stalking, quietly. Pyre was his partner as they where family and they traded turns being predator and prey. Unfortunately because Pyre was a bit older she had begun into that lion growth spurt and outweighed and outsized Tatter buy now. When tatter tried to pounce her he couldn't bring her down yet it didn't take much to bring the prince down for her.

"This isn't fair!" he laughed

"Yeah well wildebeest are usually larger than lions, you got to _learn _to take em' down." She grinned.

"Yeah well I'm not trying to kill you, probably don't taste good anyway."

She laughed, then scoffed, "You _mom _doesn't taste good."

"Oh yeah, that was original!"

They laughed and plaid the rest of class getting an angry look from there teacher later on.

His twelfth year was his moving on year, after a lion reached his or her teens they switched teachers for more mature training, pyre had moved on a while ago. He had started on the growth spurt as well, he even had one thick strand of orange mane that matched his fathers pocking through.

As per requirements he had to catch one prey before graduating, and on his birthday it was do or die. But while he was staking out the plains while the class watched him he eyed it, a white rabbit, just like the one that he had followed into the elephant's graveyard. He decided this would be perfect revenge, and he was upon it. It somehow noticed him when he was less than three inches from killing it and it took off, Tatter right behind him, as he ran through the fields, the morning sun glimmering off the light fur around his scar, his class cheered him on, and that was the last thing he ever heard that day.

One moment he was pushing against solid ground, the next moment the ground gave way and cracked beneath him, the last thing he remembered was trying to grip the ledge of the small hole but that gave way.

The class watched in horror as their classmate seemingly disappeared, their teach was the first one to rush to the scene, but he was stopped when he spotted, humans. He held back the class, "Humans" he explained, turning to the next oldest in the group he told them to grab the king.

When Tatter came too he was in some kind of vine that surrounded his whole body, being hauled up the hole he had fallen into. When he passed the top he was staring face to face with some kind of dark skinned hairless monkey. It wore some kind of funny blue cloth and shouldered some kind of long stick.

The human's name was Ashbin, his white friend was Dr. Gordon, not really a doctor but it gave them better credit for him to use that title. They where hunters and sellers of wild exotic animals, and Ashbin thought they had hit the mother load. "Gordon! Look at the coloring on this cub! His eyes are amazing, and that streak down his head almost matches."

Gordo laughed, "Yeah, we might fetch the prettiest penny we've ever seen for this pretty little boy. Uhoh, don't look now, company."

The class crept closer to the humans, teacher was growling fierce, he wanted his student back, and poor Tatter looked so confused and scared within that net.

"You think all those cubs are his?" Gordon joked, the one male adult was surrounded buy at least a dozen cubs. "You think this one is his too?" he asked shaking the net which got an angry cry from the trapped lion.

Ashbin tapped his shoulder and pointed past the van, "No, I'm pretty sure _that _one is…"

Beyond their rigged van was a mighty looking male lion with the same markings on his eyes as the cubs, he looked about as angry as a lion could look to humans, and he was surrounded buy other angry looking lions, one of them was a huge one the size they had never seen.

"I'd like to get my hands on _that _big boy." Gordon grinned greedily.

Ashbin though knew when it was time to turn in; he pressed a button and the wench that had brought the cub up collapsed back into the van taken the cub with it. The father lion roared and he humans dashed for the van and climbed in just as one rammed the passenger's side door denting it. There where allot of mighty roars as they kicked the van into gear and started to bounce away.

As the van pulled away one of the guard where pushed away, and the van took off, and so did the teacher, Davine, and Jake. There was no way Jake was going to loose his son after all that had happened to a couple of invading humans, so he followed the van at it's heels and never slowed down, even when he became exhausted, even after four hours, he never slowed down.

"Eye mate" Gordon called looking out his review, "We lost the other two but the dads still following us."

Ashbin eyed the city line as they crossed into an central African city, "Not for long."

As the truck entered the human lands an group of armed humans stopped it, one fired into the air and aimed at the lion following, Jake sat, but he wasn't letting the van out of his sights.

"Why is this thing following you?" The military personnel,

"Dunno," Gordon lied as the other military officers checked the cab of the truck, he felt okay, they usually only checked the cab, goodness knows there was enough illegal running of merchandise on this country he wouldn't be surprised if the cops where in on most of it.

"I bet, open the back!"

"Now wait a minute."

The guard gave him an tempered look, turning his gun from the behaving lion to the white man, "Don't get smart with me! Open your back now!"

Tatter had ridden for hours in the net and in the dark, he winced when the door opened and the sun now past noon was allowed in. Thos strange apes that had kidnapped him where staring in at him, still only the one white one.

"What the hell is this!?"

Ashbin came up, "Now I can explain," he claimed taking out his check book, all this got was a rifle but into his gut and the African was down on his knees.

"You defile the land, break the law, and bring _this _thing out of its terroritory and thus its parent, _and _thus threatening our people? Untie him now!"

One of the other guards brought out a hunting knife, as Jake watched one of the humans brought something shiny out of his clothes and entered the van, but he had to steel himself, these humans didn't seem to be on the same side as the others. The black one that had stolen his son was still writing on the ground from the hit he had gotten from the thunder stick. When the human reappeared it was carrying his son, who looked kind of large in the man's arms.

When the human had cut him loose and even went as far as to carry him out Tatter was more than a little surprised, as soon as he was set down he ran into his father's protective custody. When he turned he saw the leader of the good humans hit the white one in the head with his pole and the white one fall to the ground, and then he was dragged off buy the good humans.

"Dad, what _are _they?"

"Humans son, the great rulers and destroyers of the world, if you ever see them in the pride land avoid them, the majority of the time they mean trouble, though as you can see, there are some good ones."

The cub turned and stared across the plains and hills they where buy, it all looked unfamiliar to him, "Dad, do you know where we are?"

The king looked back across the land with him, "No, but if we follow the stars tonight we should end back up in the pride lands, it took us a quarter of a quarter of the movement of the sun, and that was running, so we might take a day or so, some father son time."

Buy the time the moon rose and they started there way following the stars as his father had suggested both lions where hungry, but this close to civilization there where seemingly no food to speak of, a few sickly looking rodents, but they didn't look healthy enough to eat.

"Dad I'm hungry" Tatter wined

Jake had to steel himself, Tatter was just a cub after all and after all the adventuring he had done it seemed tatter had already passed up a life time. "I know, I know, but as you can see there's little to eat out here."

Tatter moaned in defeat, and walked along side his dad, when the moon rose to a quarter way to midnight the cub was dragging his feet, his tail, and his spirits. "Dad, I'm exhausted can't we stop?"

Jake shook his head, "No I'm sorry son, but we have to keep moving, we will sleep when morning hits."

"Can you at least carry me?"

Jake smiled, this is one of the few times he got to spend allot of time with his son, and one of the very few times his son actually acted his age. "Ok, but only when you can't move another inch, I have to reserve my strength for carrying you as far as I can.

Just before midnight Jake ended up carrying his son, Jake looked around the foreign lands, he had been outside the pride lands as king but not that far, and none of this was familiar to him. Even the stars seemed a bit more distant to him, as if the kings no longer watched over his fate. The moon was a quarter its way back down and the king was now the one dragging his feet and his tail. He walked over to a bit of brush and trees and sat his son down, then cradled up next to him protecting his son with his body, if there was one thing he wasn't going to let happen was anything to his son again, hopefully ever, especially not tonight. As he drifted off to sleep somewhere a bird woke to the morning.

When he woke later the sun was on its way back and his son was no longer in his arms, he cursed himself for being a heavy sleeper. But he later eyed his son, trotting back to his dad, munching on something. Jake rubbed his eyes, and came around to his son.

"What'cha got there? Is that an?"

Tatter smiled with pride towards his father, "An antelope, a small baby one but one either way, wanna join me?"

Jake laughed, "Sure, I'm sure you've passed that test now.'

They slept again till nightfall and took off towards what they hoped was their home. This time Tatter walked further than before, but it never seemed far enough.

Brae paced back and forth, it had been over a day since they last saw the king or his son, they had no idea and no way of knowing what had happened to them. Last night Davine and the guards had come back empty handed with the story no one wanted to hear.

"So who's in charge?" Asked Davine, "You?"

Brae shook his head, his golden mane standing out on his dark fur even after the sun had set, "No, I think if I remember correctly from what I've learned here while the king is still assumed alive but unable to run his kingdom his wife takes charge."

Davine shook his head, "We don't know if he is still alive, we don't know if we'll ever have proof. For all we know he was caught buy the humans later when he was by himself."

"_**NO ONE **_is taking my brother's throne, besides," he looked at Lien, "The next in line of royal blood is what, five? He's a little young."

Now Kiara, who was starting to wear some grey around her ears, came up to him, "What about you?"

Brae shook his head, "You know I'm not royalty, just related to one hell of a lucky brother."

Kiara nodded, "But when the king is gone and there is no successor of royal blood the closest relative of non-royal blood must take his place."

Brae sat at this, his eyes wide, "Me? King? I couldn't take my brother's spot!"

Davine staid him with his paw, "It's most likely temporary till the king gets back, just to help him out a little."

Brae looked around the cave taking it in, he was to be king? Even if it was temporary it sure felt official. "But what if he never returns?" He eyed the center throne, it wasn't right that he'd steal his brother's spot.

His mother, Mattie brought over and sat Lien who carried a stone in his mouth, "Then we'll have to wait till the next king is old enough, and you'll be the king till then." She nuzzled her son, "It'll be ok, Jake's been through allot up to know, this wont stop him, not buy a long shot."

The feeling wasn't mutual though, as the kingdom thought of its lost king the king was almost ready to give up on his lost kingdom. The sun had risen a little over the horizon buy the time they came across a huge lake, and Jake sat down Tatter, who splashed a little in the cool water and drank. "Tatter I'm sorry." The king mumbled to himself more than to his son.

"Sorry for what? This isn't your fault."

"Isn't it? I forced you to go to school in the first place, and I should have been there for your graduation, I was neither."

Tatter shook him off, "You're the king, and you have important things to do all day long."

Jake nodded, looking down into the water and then lapping up some himself, the cool water was nice along the backside of his throat, he even let some run down his chin and chest, and then waded in himself. "I guess you're right, I'm just so afraid I don't know where we are, I don't remember a watering hole this big when I was following the truck, and to tell you the truth, I just don't trust my judgment any more."

The cub swam over to and climbed on top of his father, then lied down onto his wet but fluffy mane, "Daddy, you where so sure you knew where you were going, and I think you still are, forget your worries."

Jake nodded, "Hakunna Matata"

"What?"

"Something your mom passed to me, it means no worries. When did you get so smart?"

Tatter laughed, "Well I got my brains from mom."

"Oh that's it!" Jake laughed and dunked his son, that morning they plaid in the lake until they where both exhausted, and slept better than they had in ages.

More days past as the king and prince walked about lost, none of the cats, even another pride of lions, knew of the land they talked of. The pride of lions offered to take the lost king in not knowing he was a king, but when he spoke of his royal place and that he was needed back home they let him go with a royal blessing and the chance to eat off of their land.

Meanwhile Brae had gotten a little into the swing of being king, each day he did the list of kingly duties as Sara said needed being done, her still being the official queen, and looked after his little nephew as well, not having a cub of his own. But every night he stayed out late on the ledge of pride rock looking over his lands to the north looking for any sign of his brother, and night after night he was disappointed, and he kept sleeping outside so no one could see that he was crying himself to sleep, he especially didn't want his mom to see. He was proud that he was filling in king for what may be a long time, but he didn't want this, he didn't want to loose his brother, and he didn't really want all this responsibility that was thrown at him, he wasn't born or married into kingdom, it wasn't his weight to carry.

The morning came and Brae opened his eyes to the rising sun, somewhere in the distance an elephant trumpeted, somewhere behind him lions and lionesses skirted about busy. He though, he felt just like lying here and staring off into the distance till all his staring some how brang back his brother. Bring back his brother? That's it! He thought.

As he was thinking the three lionesses closest to his heart, his sister in law, mother in law, and his own mother, sat down next to him.

"What's my little boy see out there?" Mattie asked him.

"I see what's not mine, it's too much for me and isn't rightfully mine, so I see what I'm going to do."

"What?" Mattie cocked her head to the side.

"I'm going to find the king. I'm going to find my brother."

"Whoa wait a minute," Kiara said shooting up, despite the fact that her daughter now wore a hopeful look on her face. "We can't go losing another king, where running out of people to play king, if you leave that leaves the throne open for a takeover, at least with you here your brother can get back on his throne, if someone takes over the throne and dethrones all of us you'll come back to a place your likely banished from.

Brae shook his head, "I'm not going anywhere, but Davine is, as is over two dozen lions, I'm going to organize a rescue party."

"And search where?" his mother in law insisted, "For all we know he's in another world, a human world buy now."

Brae nodded, "I know, don't worry, I have it under control."

With Davine leading the search party, and Nairo joining, the twenty or so lions where giving there duties, not to enter any lands they didn't have alliances with, and only search to the north the way the king headed. But they started one night and ended night after night with no success, Brae refused to let the guard or his cousin give up, but it seemed he might be king for quite a while.

Jake gasped, the lake from days ago was back in there sights, even Tatter who hung from his mouth groggy with sleep knew it. "Dad, isn't that the same one as before?"

He nodded setting down his son, and then clawed fiercely at the ground, "Dammit!"

"Daddy," his son, while growing, was still a cub none the less, and was getting fussy this late with no sleep, "Are we going to be lost forever?"

Jake chuckled to himself, in spite of himself, "No son, no son, where not lost anymore, because, I think this is our new home."

"What!?"

He cringed, his son didn't like the idea anymore than he did, "I'm sorry son, we'll never find our back home," he started sobbing, "and I think this is the best chance…we have."

Tatter noticed what bad shape his father was in and didn't push it, instead he cuddled with his dads arm "it'll be ok dad. We'll be fine."

His father held him, the only thing he had left and his only responsibility for the rest of their life, "I know we will."

Nairo ran, he had done something he knew he'd get punished for friend of the king or not, if he didn't find him. In his mouth he clenched a skin bag, and as he went further north it grew brighter and started pulsing faster. He knew the stone inside of it though he had never seen it before, he knew its story, and he knew that his best friend, King Jacob, had made it off limits to anybody and that if anyone touched it they'd be in serious trouble. It was suppose to hold a magical if not deadly force within it, but Nairo also knew that it was more likely to find their king than the random wandering around the rest of the rescue team was doing. His only problem is that Kiara had seen him take it and he knew she had seen the power it possessed up close, she seemed extremely afraid of it, and if she sent any guard after him he'd be in deep trouble.

The bag started dulling and he stopped for a minute, turning in circles till he got the baring with his magical compass, and started off again. As he ran closer and closer it began to grow brighter, and brighter, soon he was blinded buy a red light, and he felt something happening on his side of his face, and for the first time since so many years ago during the war, he opened his closed eye, and he could no longer feel the scars pulling on his skin.

"Daddy? Nairo?" It was Tatter that woke Jake, but Jake had to wince and squint against the bright red light that lie several feet in front of him. While he couldn't see what was making the light he did make out Nairo's face, Nairo's unscarred face with both of his eyes.

"Nairo," he asked waking up a bit more, "what happened to you?"

Nairo was gripping at his face unable to believe it himself, "I dunno," he said, "the rock, the stone, your stone healed me!"

"Stone?" then he eyed his son who was getting closer to the red light, and his eyes grew wide, the crystal, why was it glowing this bright this close to the prince, and why was it getting brighter? "Tatter no!"

But it was too late, as Tatter turned to look at his father the red light exploded blinding the party of three, when everyone was able to see, Nairo gasped, the King was unconscious right where the stone had been.

"Father!?" Tatter screamed "Dad?" he nudged him, and the king turned over. He was breathing, and seemingly unharmed.

Jake opened his eyes to the two curious lions who looked down upon him, "What happened?"

Nairo shrugged, "I don't know, but the stones gone, and you seem all right."

Jake looked at his son and he nodded that he was fine too. "Strange" Jake moaned as he got off his back, "I had the worse feeling that if Jake had taken the stone it would have meant his immanent death. Why didn't it kill me?"

Nairo shrugged, "I dunno, you're probably just being fatherly, come on, lets go, I know the way back."

The next morning when the three appeared over the horizon they got the warmest welcome home ever, Tatter kept being shared buy the older lionesses that have grown to love the little guy and Jake got a warm nuzzle from his wife, his mother in law, his mother, and even his brother.

Brae stopped next to him, "Thank god your back, this king business is for the birds."

"I resent that remark," Zazu said waddling out of the cave, "and, I, ehem, need help getting up on my perch again."

Jake laughed, "Yeah, it's good to be back, be right there Zazu."

Kiara eyed Nairo, "You're face? Anything weird happen out there?"

"Uh um..." Nairo was going to be caught anyway

"Nope nothing," the king interrupted, "right little guy."

Tatter nodded while being paid attention buy all the lionesses, "Nothing odd at all."


	3. Chapter 2

Ch2

Years went buy and Jake steadily but healthily grew older, the older he grew the more noble he looked though according to everybody. Indeed Tatter had actually passed the class without hunting again after Jake pulled a few strings, and he once again moved up into a class with pyre, now fifteen his mane had grown to be the same color of his fathers albeit it was still in mohawk stage, and he had a white bunch of hair that sprouted from atop his scar. Lien himself was eight; he had grown into a healthy young cub that looked much like the rest of the males in his family aside for he was missing the rings around his eyes. He didn't wanna start class and after what Jake and Tatter had been through Jake no longer had any will to force anyone to attend school.

Their teacher for the past few years had been an older lioness who had a stuffy 'I don't care what you think I'm always right' attitude. Today she sat down in front of class, looking a bit giddy.

"Today is my favorite subjects." She announced to the pack as they sat in the middle of the plains in the middle of the days heat.

"How to bore us to death?" Pyre snickered, Tatter joined in.

"If you two don't keep it down I'll have you demonstrate! On that, the subject about the birds and the bees."

This got a few giggles from the younger lionesses in the group, a good chuckle out of a hefty male next to Tatter.

"Class I won't have you giggling throughout today, so if you can't be mature about it, just walk out now! Otherwise shut up sit down and learn."

To Tatter that day had been equally embarrassing to both him and his cousin Pyre, trying not to chuckle in class and having to listen to the teacher talk about such things. He was relieved when, with the sun a quarter the way down, they finally got out.

"God" pyre said, "And I thought it was bad when my parents told me, it was just as bad at having to listen to someone who's probably never had any." She ribbed Tatter who just began cracking up.

They met up with pyre's little sister who was also older than him, in fact Pyre and her sister, or as Pyre called her when she was mad at her, step sister since they where not blood related, where only a couple of years apart. Pyre's sister had a dark coat of fur mixed with some yellow, while no one actually knew about her father, even to Pyre it was forbidden talk, she had guessed it had to come from him.

The three of them decided to go hang at the closest watering hole, here they chatted and played for a while, until the sun began to sit. Then the three watched from the watering hole as the sun set behind the horizon lighting the lake on fire. "We should get back." Said pyre

Trive, pyre's sister, looked towards the south, "No, lets go exploring!"

Tatter was a little reprehensive, "I, I dunno about that, its not forbidden is it?"

"No Trive we gotta get home." Pyre scolded her.

"Aww, its right buy our home, Tatter can stay the night at our place too."

"Oh no!" Pyre shook her head, "We can't go there!"

"What? Its not forbidden, just off limits."

Pyre looked for assistance from Tatter who had no idea what they where talking about, he just shrugged and followed the darker sister towards the south. On the way down he passed word to one of the scout birds heading back that he'd be spending the night at the southern cave tonight. He had only been there once before, and he had been so little he hardly remembered it, though his uncle and his father's friend visited often. Instead of heading towards the cave they skirted around it, out of the view of even the guards, and headed even further south.

Tatter looked around unsure, "Aren't we getting awfully close to the southern boarder of our land?"

Pyre nodded, "There's one last place before it becomes Panther land, but where _not _suppose to be in there." She eyed her sister warily.

Trive just shrugged, "ah we can get in with the prince, and they gotta obey his every word."

Buy the time the moon had risen a little less than halfway into the sky they made it to the entrance, of the old ravine. Two guards of the royal army blocked there entrance, "State your business," demanded the older one, "young lions have no reason to be here."

Trive stepped aside so Tatter was in full view, "We are escorting Prince Tatter to this area for a random inspection of duties, _do_ you have a problem with that?"

Both the guards bowed quickly, the older one seemed a bit flabbergasted, "I- I uh, I'm sorry sir, we weren't expecting you."

He laughed nervously, "Ehem, yeah that's why it's random." He said scratching his main nervously, "don't hold it against me, my dad's idea."

The guard nodded, "We won't, be gentle though, we haven't had time to clean."

Once inside Trive elbowed him, "Nice there small stuff."

Pyre just kept looking back at the guards up the ravine and back at the two who had taken lead, "Do you realize what you have done, if they ask how their report went later, especially to your father, we're all doomed!"

Trive laughed "oh punishment for this isn't too bad, not like back in the elephant graveyard."

At that Tatter itched the part of the scar that was on his muzzle, it seemed it always itched when someone mentioned that place. "Besides if we do get caught _you _had nothing to do it, you were forced along just to take care of us as we went in here on our own."

Pyre shook her head, "I have two older lions living with us that would debate that would work."

"Oh yeah," he said, looking down and itching his scar again.

The lionesses and the prince ended up on the second level to the right, and then into a cave. Inside a few lions rested for the night, but other than that nothing was out of the ordinary. "Welcome to your father's birthplace."

Pyre gave her a weird look, "I thought King's where born on pride rock."

Tatter laughed, "My dad's not of royal blood, that's my mom, no, my dad was a normal old lion till he married." He looked around the cave, "I've never been here but he told me about it, he said it was turned into this guard station after the Great War not long after Pyre was born."

"Jeez, royal history, right here, a normal cub born in this very cave, a normal cub that probably had no idea he was one day going to become king." Pyre said suddenly into the moment.

A large guard approached them, "Who _are _you all? This is definitely no place for ladies." He said his stature large.

"Yeah" Trive muttered "Regular sausage fest."

"What did you say?"

Tatter jumped in front of Trive, smiling nervously, "Sorry, she's got a huge mouth."

"And _who the hell _are you?"

Tatter was taken back; he thought everyone knew him, "I am your prince!"

The guard stood back, "Oh, I'm sorry sire, I've not seen you since your birth, and I was a little young, and you've grown allot since then."

The three looked around a bit the went on to the rest of the ravine, there wasn't much left to look at other than a strange rock pile in the center of the lower area of the ravine. If tatter remembered correctly the center of town was used for social gatherings and parties back when his father was young. Tatter stopped a passing lion, he was staggering a bit and had breath that admitted he had dipped into some of the monkey's special sauce, but he was still coherent.

"What are these rocks for?" he asked.

The lion nodded, smacking his lips and trying to be as somber as possible, "That's for those who lived in the ravine before the war, the ones massacred buy the traitorous lion and his posse." He sneezed, "I think you may have had some great aunts or uncles who where in that scene pr- prince, do well to pay your respects…" he burped, "I think I'm going to go lie down a bit."

So Tatter sat there for a minute studying and thinking over the rocks, if he was correct his second cousin Rigger did have a mother who was killed in the attack, he was sure there where others, probably some second cousins, that where also killed here. After a while he nodded to his cousins, while he knew they weren't first cousins they where like that to him, "I think it's time to head back, I'm tired as hell."

It was midnight when Brae got to his feet while the rest of pride rock snoozed, he couldn't sleep. He had thought himself about dipping into some of the monkey's sauce reserves pride rock held within its bowls, but thought again, if he was going to get any sleep he was going to do it naturally. He instead decided to take a nice walk and hopefully wear himself out that way. Brae got a look from a brand new guard at the door he nodded to, buy know he was used to it, he was one of the odd colored lions of the pride. His father, of whom he had never known and supposedly died in a racing accident, had given him his dark orange fur coat, yet he gained another feature that was unusual in any breed of lion, a golden mane. Both his mother and his mother in law insisted it made him look beautiful, but he swore sometimes it just made him feel like a freak.

Down at the watering hole there was another lioness around his age out this late with a young cub, they nodded to each other. She was a dark furred lioness; she seemed to be pure bread orange.

"Can't sleep?" she asked him.

He smirked and nodded his head, "read me like a book, you?"

She laughed, "Oh well I as sleeping fine till my little bro here decided he wasn't going to, and of course _I'm _the one left taking care of him."

He looked at her, and then at the young cub that could barely walk on his own, probably didn't even know how to speak yet, "You're brother?"

She started to laugh harder, "well yeah, I know, my mom chose to have a cub at such a late age, and then she's too friking old, or lazy, or whatever to take care of it herself!" she nodded to him smiling, "Names Pracie, nice to meat you buy the way." She said and then mouthed her brother dragging him back away from the water.

He nodded, "Brae, pleasures all mine." He bent down himself for a drink.

"The Brae?" she eyed him.

He came back up grinning, he got this allot, "A Brae?"

She laughed, "Yeah I guess I wouldn't want to admit it either, hello, I'm the brother of the king but I'm not really royalty" she said doing her best impression of a stuffy male.

He laughed, pushing her a bit, "Shuddap, that didn't sound at all like me."

They sighed, looking over the water, the moon reflected in its almost glassy like state. "So where you from since you've already guessed my home out."

"Actually I'm new in here, I was kicked out of my pride up north for killing my last…mate, and my family followed me down here, where hoping to be welcomed."

He eyed her warily, and she started to blush. "I know how that sounded! But I swear I had good reason… I just don't like talking about it."

He nodded, "I understand, we've all done things in our lives and some of them where bad, but we've all got to do as my brother tells everyone he meets after hearing it from his wife. "put your past behind you"."

She nodded, "sound advice."

He nodded, then eyed her, "Ya'll find a place to stay yet?"

She nodded back, "Yeah, I hope it's okay, it looked abandoned, there's a cave further north from here that looks as if it had once been a caved in version of another cave, but with the vegetation and time it has yet sort of produced into another sturdier cave. Though it looked as if it where allot taller once."

He smiled, "Ah, you speak of my old home."

Her ears perked a little, "Really?"

He nodded, "North of a good sized river with a tree over it?" she nodded, "I was really too young to remember it but we had a big flood come buy so long ago, when I was still unable to talk, about the same age as your little bro there, and destroyed our cave, or something during the flood did, not sure which."

She nodded, "I hope you don't mind."

He shook his head, "Oh no, it was long time abandoned, if you think its safe then buy all means, it's yours."

Pracie nodded, "Thanks". Her little brother had fallen asleep at her paws and she looked towards the sky, the moon had moved a quarter past midnight, "I've staid too late already, time flies." She laughed picking up her brother, and nodding to Brae, "I had fun, hope to see you again."

He nodded back, "Me too."

When the trio had gotten back to the caves Rigger was outside waiting for them, a sour look on his face. "Where were you all?"

Trive shrugged, "Playing, what's to it?"

"Excuse me?" but she was already in the cave,

Pyre nodded to her father, a look of worry was on her face, and he just nuzzled her, "It's okay, you aren't hurt." He nodded to Tatter, "Nice to have ya aboard, now get in so I can sleep."

Tatter nodded his thin main starting to whip in the wind as a breeze picked up.

Back at pride rock the breeze hit so it came strongly through the window and woke Jake, whose arm had fallen asleep under his wife, he turned around just in time to see a flash of golden mane as Brae settled down.

"You seen tatter?" he mumbled to his brother.

Brae shrugged, "a little birdie told me he was staying at Rigger's"

Jake nodded and snuggled back into his wife's back.

The next morning tatter awoke amongst some of the other lions that where already up and moving around, a rock slid his way, and he peered at where it came from sleepily, Rigger was sitting amongst his daughters, grinning, "Heard you know how to play."

Tattered smirked, "You've already lost."

No one really remembers who started push the rock, but there where two forms, unofficial push the rock played buy friends, included any type of rock they just rolled around in a group, no one kept count. But now as Rigger and his daughters got ready they where going to play a little more competitive, during competition games it was a simple task, push the rock the hardest and fastest towards one of the competitors as possible, best if you catch them off guard, because the lion that missed had a score added to his points. In the end the player with the least amount of points won, Tatter smiled, and hit the rock with one young but mighty paw towards Pyre.

Jake woke with a grimace and tried to push at his face, he woke with a tremendous headache, his ears wined and his head felt as if something was pushing from the inside, he roared in pain startling everyone in the cave. Sara jumped awake and away, fearing some kind of attack, but then approached her husband, he wasn't being attacked but he was grimacing and holding his head.

"Jake?" he didn't answer, she tried to nudge him but he didn't even notice.

Mattie and Kiara walked over to the king, Sara just looked at them in concern, "Mom?"

Kiara shook her head who looked towards the worried mother of the king. "I dunno," Mattie said, "We'll stay here with him Sara, you're the fastest, you gotta get Riki and fast!"

Riki yipped in surprise when he awoke to a large lion face in his face, but he sighed when he realized it was the Queen. "What is it Miss, I was up late."

She came off of the baboon and explained the situation; he nodded thinking, "I've never dealt with something like that before, hold on" from underneath a rock a retrieved an animal skin full of what looked like thin bark.

"What's that?"

"All my fathers' notes, come." He bounded down the tree with the lioness hot on his tail

When they arrived the king was in no better shape, still incoherent and still writhing in pain, his paws atop his head. After studying him Riki stood, looking at the three lionesses. "Well I've narrowed it down to three things. What you tell me can save his life, or at least let us make it more comfortable." He noted Sara's ears lay back at that, it wasn't pretty sounding at all but it was the truth. "First and least deadly, I know you royalty keep a skin of our party drink, did he have allot of it lately."

Sara shook her head, "Jake doesn't touch the stuff unless it's official to do so, he says it leaves a bitter taste in his mouth."

The baboon grimaced, "Did he injure his head recently?"

The lionesses looked amongst themselves, talked a bit, and looked back, Sara shook her head, "Not that we're aware of."

The baboon sat and sighed, "Than it's worse than I thought."

Sara got closer to the shaman, "What?"

He opened his notes and pointed to the drawing of a brain with a bubble on it, "It is a very rare sickness, and my father ran across it only once in his time and he killed the lion while trying to save him. It doesn't have a name for it yet, it is our custom not to name something till we know more about it. Anyway what it is, is a ball or bubble of solid meat that forms on a brain, other than that we don't know much. What I do know is it is causing pressure on the brain and may cause other things to happen."

Just then the king whipped in a backwards ark and went limp, and then his legs and head began to shake uncontrollably, his eyes rolled into the back of his head and his tongue hung out of his mouth.

"Ah shit, Sara, take his head and whatever you do keep him as still as possible, Mattie get his back legs." Riki grabbed for his front legs and they all held on as the king whipped about, seemingly trying to pull from there grasp while unconscious. "Kiara, I need that animal skin of that drink!"

"But you just asked if he'd…"

"Do it _now,_ for the sake of the king!"

Kiara was off in a heart beat, when she returned with the drink in her mouth the king was no longer moving, Sara finally let go of her husband's mane and the other two let go of his legs. Riki took the skin and opened it, tilting the king's face upward he poured almost half of the skin into the king's mouth, and then tightly held his mouth shut.

Jake tried to open his eyes, his head no longer hurt as much as before but the room was too bright. "His eyes" he heard Sara say from somewhere near him.

Then he heard Riki, "They'll adjust, a side affect of the seizure."

"Can he hear us?" he heard his mom

"Dunno."

"What's a seizure?" he heard Kiara ask.

"It's an spasm of the brain and muscles thereafter created mostly buy some kind of pressure on the brain."

"Sara?" Jake called weakly and somewhere in the bright world a soft nuzzle he'd recognize anywhere rubbed against his neck.

"You're with us huh?"

"I can't…see"

The baboon laughed, "That'll wear off."

It did, when he sat up it seemed almost too dark for the morning, and after he came around a bit more he started asking questions, and Riki answered everything. "What can I do?" he asked

Riki sighed, "There's nothing we can do, the only thing _you _can do is learn to live with it and," he held the animal skin up, "I'll have my classes produce allot more of these," he said sitting it near Jake's window, "If you ever feel the pressure start up again, drink, allot of it, it will not get rid of the problem but lesson the affect it has on you, you don't want to be caught in another seizure."

Jake nodded.

"OW!" Tatter yelled holding his face, "that's a foul!"

Rigger grimaced, "Are you ok? I swear I didn't mean to get it off the ground much less hit you with it."

Tatter nodded, "I'm good, Pyre's too far ahead anyway." He looked outside the cave towards the sky, it was about to hit noon, "and I gotta get home."

Rigger nodded, "Well it was nice having you over; don't get into anymore trouble now."

Tatter laughed as he headed out, "I can't promise anything."

Before he headed out he paid a visit and sat with Ront and Konya, Ront had already grown a full mane, but he guessed he hadn't seen him in quite a while. Ront's scar still bore deeply over his half closed eye. Konya had grown up to be a nice young woman and had in fact taken Ront as her mate; they weren't the same age but they where close enough.

"I still miss pride rock." Ront sighed

Tatter just kind of scratched his scar, "Yeah, sorry."

Konya shook her head, "It's not all your fault, we each carry the blame equally and you where just a kid."

Ront shook his head in agreement, "Yeah, it's mostly my fault anyway."

When they finished Tatter was surprised buy an affectionate nuzzle from his old baby sitter before he set off. It was a quarter past noon when he arrived back at his home, his dad was red eyed and smelled of the party potion Uncle Brae had once let him try. "You've been drinking?" He asked concerned.

His father just laughed, "Only for my health."

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing," Jake waved him off, "I'm fine, did you have fun at Rigger's?"

Tatter nodded still eyeing his dad wearily, "Yeah, I got the bruises to show it too." He sat next to his dad. "Anything new?"

"Not really? You?"

Tatter shook his head, "Gotta see Konya and Ront."

"Oh? How are those two?" Jake asked sniffing and wiping his nose with a paw.

Tatter shrugged, "They married, and they…" but his father was asleep.

The week went on allot like that, Tatter, having no clue because of the adults vow of silence on the whole matter, came to see his dad stinking drunk more than half the week, which was weird because he swore his dad never touched the monkey's potions till now, and there seemed to be a larger supply than he had once thought there was. When he asked his mom she just shrugged it off which got him real worried, worried that if he didn't stop him, Jake might get hurt.

The teen was adding this all together in his mind near the watering hole when he saw something that made him stop thinking all together. A beautiful lioness about his age, yellow shining in the pre-noon sun, bent down for a drink, and eyed him as she lapped up the water.

He edged closer to her as she sat looking over the water and they nodded to each other, and then sat a few inches away watching the water.

"Nice day." He said

She nodded again, the cool breeze picked up as she did and stirred her fur; he was quickly in love, again. "It is."

His thoughts stumbled, he was about to try and pick the conversation up when a group of lionesses came out of the brush, one nodded and started chatting with the girl, and some of them eyed the prince. He kept his ears open to the lioness's comments.

"So Amanda," a lioness said to the girl, "See your hanging with the prince, setting our goals high huh?"

She scoffed quietly, "Shut up, I'm not into him, look at that scar."

He winced at that and stopped his paw in mid flight before it started fingering his scar again.

"Oh, I'd like to be the next queen," he caught another saying, "I don't care about his looks." 

"Oh shut up, I'd be a much better queen." Came another.

"Girls?" came a strong male voice and a tall husky lion came out of the brush, they all paid attention to him, some of them called him dad. "Come girls, we gotta get home, your mothers are going to get worried if where out this long." He eyed and bowed to the prince, "Your majesty" and walked off with all the girls in tow.

But he could still hear them as they walked off.

"So which one of you is courting the next king?" The father said.

The lionesses giggled, "Amanda" one of them joked.

"Shut up! I am not!"

He stared into the water, his eyes welling with tears, was he really that ugly, the scar had been called cute buy all the adults, why did every woman near his age seem to hate him, how could he rid himself of his scar. His eyes turned to teary anger, and he released the claws of his right paw and pulled down on his scar making it bleed. And there he sat silently, looking into the water, at the small nick he had made on the large patch of dark fur that marked his scar, and cried without sound.

When he got home his dad was fast asleep though this time didn't reek of alcohol, and he eyed the bag buy his father's window. The lionesses that usually took up the room, his grandmothers and mother, weren't in sight and his father was asleep, there was no one stopping him, this would relieve his pain and get rid of the stuff his dad insisted on becoming addicted to. He gripped the back gently between his teeth and laid down, turning over onto his back, he punctured the bag and sucked every last inch of the half full bag, until he finally felt a nice dizzy feeling that sent him into sleep.

He woke to screaming, it was his dad, he was holding his head with both paws, he seemed to be in bad pain, and was trying to eye his son, but his eyes where wild.

"Dad?" he said backing off, a little wobbly, and bumping into the cave wall.

"Son, the drink!"

Tatter pawed the empty sack and tried to think, he shook his head and tried again, "I think I drank it all."

"Why!" his father grimaced, almost whispering, Jake curled into a ball as he roared in pain which got the lionesses coming. "Get more!"

Tatter tried to run off for some more but only succeeded into running into his grandmother Kiara on the way out. "Tatter, did you drink his drink?"

He shook his head, trying to clear it, "I, it doesn't matter, something wrong with dad." He then hiccupped, and smelled something bitterly warm hit his front toes. "Aww." He mumbled and then fell against the wall again, sliding down into a laying position, staring around wildly.

Mattie was already in the room with a new bag, prepared for the worse; she had Kiara hold her son's head and punctured the bag herself draining the whole thing into Jake's mouth. Soon Jake was sound asleep again, even snoring until the lionesses got him off his back.

"That much can't be good for him." Kiara said watching here son in law sleep.

"Better than nothing," then Mattie turned to her grandson, who's half closed eyes and stink told her the story of the empty bag on the floor next to Jake. "What where you thinking?"

Tatter not thinking nosed his puke aside and lied down, letting down a single drunken tear, "She doesn't like me either."

"Tatter?" His mother entered the room; to her it smelled worse because she hadn't been in the middle of it, it smelled of dirty lions, puke, and drink. She eyed the two lionesses, "What happened?"

Mattie nodded to her, "Your son decided to get into allot of your husbands medical drink."

Sara sighed, staring at her son, "Great, you going to grow up to be as much trouble as your old man?" she walked over to him, "Can't leave you sleeping in that, can I? I'll embarrass you enough to keep you out of that drink forever."

She grabbed him buy the neck and pulled him out into the main hall, he didn't go with much protest, once outside, and to some of the young lions around his age's amusement, she cleaned him like a cub, grimacing at the taste of puke and alcohol.

His dreams where also in the past, he remembered living a simple cub life, he remembered even before learning had become important and the only thing he cared for was playing push the rock with his father before he got home, where his days where spent with his mom and his babysitter, and annoying the aging Zazu.

When he woke at first he thought he had somehow gone back to those days, he could feel his mom's familiar tongue caressing his face and neck. But then he opened his eyes he realized he was still an young teen, and for some reason his mom was cleaning him. He shot up and backed away, his mom giving him an sly almost evil looking smile, "Mom!? What are you doing?" he asked trying to pat down his main which insisted on sticking up.

"You needed cleaning." She insisted still smiling.

"Agh, I'm a little too old for this." He noticed some of the other lionesses where giggling while this went all on, he looked around embarrassed, he was in the main chamber, "ah mom!" he said quickly stalking out of the cave.

Sara couldn't help but start laughing herself once her son was out, and then she followed him out, he went to the lower side of the rock hiding under the ledge, embarrassed. She sat next to him and he hunched his shoulders, eyeing her warily. "Trust that's the last time you dip into you dad's drinks." She smiled

He nodded "Yeah mom, sorry." He then eyed her, "Why don't you do that to dad? He's been drunk almost all week now."

She sighed still smiling, "First off he'd probably like it, and second, you remember what was happening while you where drunk of your ass, my mom said you saw the whole thing."

"A little, I think he had a headache, but isn't it caused buy the drinking, I'm sure I'll have one later."

She smiled, "I'm sure you will, but that's not it with you father… he uh. You're fathers sick, and the drinks are the only pain medication Riki could subscribe to your father." She looked down, "Try to be nice to him, I don't know how much longer he will last, and whatever you do don't drink his stuff again, I don't want to have to clean you again, you taste like puke!" she smirked,

Tatter laughed a little, "Yeah well at least I was having some good dreams."

She smiled, "You looked comfortable, just like my baby, I kind of miss that little innocent cub." She nuzzled him.

He got up and shook off his sleep, "Yeah, well I'm going to go take a dip, I got you're spit all over me."

As he walked off Jake came up and sat next to his wife, his eyes red with sleep. "He ok?"

"He's fine," she turned and nuzzled her husband, "are _you _ok?"

He itched his mane, "I'm fine I guess, I wish I didn't have to drink all the time."

Down at the water hole Tatter came out of the water, his mane matted onto his face, but when he pushed it aside he saw her again, Amanda was apparently her name. She was with her posse of sisters again and he tried to ignore her as he cleaned himself off.

Just then his little brother came over and tried to pounce him, "Gotcha!"

"Yeah you did," he laughed, pushing his brother into the water, "But who's all wet now?"

They played for a bit until they where both soaked and tired, then Tatter got an idea, "Hey Lien buddy, you're a cute little guy, you see that girl?" he said pointing to Amanda, Lien nodded, "Well I want you to go ask what she really thinks of me while her sisters aren't around."

Lien nodded and happily trotted over to Amanda, he whispered something to the girl, who eyed Tatter and whispered something back, then Lien came back over, always full of happiness, "She said she doesn't, she wouldn't even as a friend."

Tatter lowered his head, closing his eyes, "figures."

"Did I do something wrong?"

Tatter opened his eyes smiling at his little brother, and then pushed him back into the water, "Yeah you went and got all dry on me."

Lien laughed like all little kids did and Tatter couldn't help but laugh too, if anything he had family.

Jake opened his eyes, his head was pounding but not from the usual, he guessed it was a headache from all the drinking he had to do, it was a coincidence a cure for his pain would cause another pain. He had apparently curled up next to his wife atop pride rock's ledge outside, the moon had started to rise and somewhere near the watering hole he heard his youngest giggling.

"You're not the one" something whispered, he recognized it as the same voice the crystal had. He looked up to the rising moon in the setting sun.

"What do you mean, didn't you choose me?"

"You're not the one." It just whispered again.

Jake sighed, "Well then just leave me alone."

And it was quite, his wife opened her eyes and looked at him dreamily, "Something wrong?"

He nuzzled her lying down and curling against her again, "Nothing, just enjoying the night."

When Tatter and Lien got back to the bottom of pride rock they where both still soaked, and Lien was still laughing. "I wanna do that again."

Tatter laughed at him, then looked towards his parents, "we will, get going, there already asleep."

Lien ran over to his parents and snuggled in-between them, and Jake put an arm around his son. Tatter smiled, and decided he didn't mind sleeping outside tonight, he lied down and snuggled into his dad's back falling asleep quickly.


	4. Chapter 3

Ch3

Life went on for a while, while Jake kept getting drunk to run away from his sickness but he did it less and less often, and every month Riki came over to check up on him, admitting it seemed as if he was getting better, it was an important thing for Riki, only the second recorded time for this to happen in the pride land and the first time it'd gotten better.

When Tatter turned to sixteen he moved on to a different class, an adult class, Pyre had quit taking classes for an chance to help take care of her home with her father, and this one had mostly people with full manes in it, and during adult classes there where a bunch of classes out at once, but that was because one lion taught one thing each, they where specialists in their field. His first year of these classes at sixteen where mostly uneventful.

Tatter himself had grown into a young adult lion, his mane had grown long enough to split down the middle and hang over his ears though not quite long enough to cover his eyes yet, that white bunch of hair hung down together on his left side but kind of pulled of the rest of his mane, it had a mind of his own and minded no ones grooming.

During his first year he met many new friends within his classes which had about five each day; he never thought learning would be so hard. There was hunting class, fighting class, defense, how to be an adult, and he asked to be in the music department where they worked on singing remembering how much fun he had playing Simba when he was little.

His new friend's consisted mostly from this play right group. Most of them where learning the earlier days on how to keep a beat with everyone else, something he had never knew was so hard.

In those days, when Jake wasn't home ridden, he was looking towards a better pride land for the future, especially if he passed one day and his son was forced to take over the kingdom. Not long after the year started and the panthers to the south had a revolution, the leaders of their pride where overthrown and mostly killed buy another group, and that group braved into the king's pride lands to ask for forgiveness for what they did so long ago. Jake and there leader Tarsal, a skinny but proud Spotted panther, signed a treaty, Jake also had treaties going with the lion pride to the north and several other lands, soon his pride land was surrounded buy friendly neighbors, and as per treaties some times, once again, the pride land had the other prides leak into it.

Spotted panthers, banned from the lands until now, where also in Tatter's classes, and one of his best friends was one, a Darrell, a muscle bound one that had grown up in the north of their southern lands. Darrell had a knack for not also beat, but for figuring out how to play the monkey's drums. He became the leader of the music group Tatter was put in, and they also hung out allot.

Darrell was more of a ladies man, a complete opposite of Tatter who couldn't seem to find that special girl. If he wasn't hitting on the drums he was hitting on almost every lioness in their class.

Tatter cleared his throat after practicing a little, "How do you do it?"

"It?" Darrell asked drumming away, his claws out to allow him to roll a little.

"All those women," he said, "I mean I never thought myself a bad looker despite what I've heard over the years, but I always get turned down."

"Oh" he laughed, "you're too nice."

"What?"

Darrell shrugged and got to his feet, "Too nice, especially your looks," he pointed to Tatter's eyes, "those dark eyes," his clawed finger went down his nose, "that scar," and ended at the tip of the white hair that almost constantly was in Tatter's eyes, "and this. There all marks of a badass, you just need to act like one."

"Well, I mean, I guess I can try." Tatter said itching his scar.

"And stop itching that, I don't know how you came to get that but it looks cool, but if you keep playing with it you'll look like a nerd."

Tatter stopped, he had always bothered with his scar, he never thought it might make him look bad doing so.

"You ever try to force them?" Darrell asked a sly smile on his face as he sat back at his drums.

"What?" Tatter was a little drawn back at them, "No, never, I'm not that kind of lion."

Darrell started drumming again, "That's what bad-asses would do."

As the sun set their time drew to a close, and they headed there separate ways, he had no idea where Darrell lived but he always headed west. When he got home he looked about his future castle of his kingdom, there where couples strewn about everywhere, he was completely alone, and his friends words reverberated in his head, he guess, he'd have to try.

The next day was his seventeenth birthday, and he'd have his girl buy god, so he headed for the watering hole. As he thought, it was regular for then now, Amanda and her sisters where out for the morning. He didn't have a clue on what he was doing despite taking classes on these, he was never a man to force commitment but he had a feeling that if he didn't he'd be alone forever. He stalked up to her keeping low to the grasses as if he was stalking prey, she didn't even notice him. He was about to bound out of the grasses, and on top of her to ask her to submit, when another lion came from the brush and nuzzled with her. She kissed him and they walked away from him together, leaving Tatter behind alone in the grass. He sighed and lied down on the cool morning ground, "It's not like me anyway," he said digging an nail into the ground and stirring the dirt around. He felt his brother hop on top of him, and smirked, at least he still had him.

Lien climbed all the way up to his brother's mane and looked down into his eyes, "What's happening man, are you spying?"

"Not quite. What you here for?"

"Just wish a big bro a happy birthday, one more year and you'll be an official adult, your manes growing." He said lying in it.

Tatter flipped around, picked his brother of the ground and placed him on his chest, fingering a black strand growing from his brother's head, "yours is starting up as well, your ten in a couple of weeks aren't you?"

Lien nodded proud, "I'm almost a teen!"

Tatter just laughed. Lien who had gotten up early when he saw his big brother walk out ended up curling up to his big brother and sleeping, Tatter let it happen, family seemed was all he was going to have.

Buy midday Amanda's sisters where gone and they where left pretty much alone at the watering hole, Tatter picked up his growing little brother and carried him home. His family was enjoying a meal he turned down when he gave his brother to his mom, and turned to go inside when he heard it, something whispering to him like it had so long ago.

He turned to his dad, and it spoke again, from where his father was sitting, "Tatter, you where the chosen one, but now all is lost."

He eyed his dad warily, and then his dad began to grimace and hold his head, even though Jake didn't seem to realize at first what was happening Tatter's eyes grew wide and he ran quickly inside for the drink.

Jake gripped his head and grimaced.

"Is it?" Sara cut herself off not wanting to talk about it in public.

Jake nodded, he turned to go grab the sack but when he turned his older son was already behind him with it in his mouth. After a cool swish it went away, and he thanked his son. He then eyed the pride land still rubbing at his temple, "Tatter." He nodded to his son, "Come, we must walk."

The lionesses eyed the king warily as the two walked down pride rock. The first place they stopped was at a mighty tree with a marking on it. Tatter sat down the satchel he had brought just in case, "Dad, the marking on these trees, the lion and the lioness, is this?"

Jake nodded, "This is where your mother and I where betrothed to each other." He said, his laid his paw against the tree, "And this is where it started. Tell me, did you hear a whispering voice back there?"

Tatter was surprised buy this, "Yeah you too?"

"No not back there, but I think I understand what's happening now. Back when me and your mother where young we had one thing that connected our memories and our lives since we were not but cubs. A rock, and from the rock one day was born the crystal you saw when you where young, remember it?"

Tatter nodded, "Yeah, you crushed it when you tried to block me from it."

Jake shook his head, "I'm not sure I did, now. You see since it was formed into a crystal it spoke to me, but when you got near it, it grew into the brightest it ever was, I think it meant to absorb into you, but it think it accidentally absorbed into me. You see, I had this vision once that you where dead and our land was a wasteland, but now I'm wondering if I have changed the future, will I die instead, and will the land be saved?"

"Dad, you won't die."

He nodded, "I will one day, one way or another, and you will have to take over the pride land, yet you haven't traveled it like I was forced to at a young age, I think it's about time I gave you that walk."

Father and son walked together, throughout the pride lands, during the first day they visited the north, his fathers first home, and walked around to the west, he even found the caves Darrell lived in. That night they spent time at Riggers, and for the next day they went around the south and around the rest.

All the time Tatter never took his eyes off his father, his father had never really taught him anything, and doing this just seemed to bring them closer together. He wondered how he and his grandfather got along, he never really talked to Jake about it, and it wasn't something Jake seemed to like talking about. Buy the time they reached pride rock it was night again.

Sara nodded and snuggled her husband as they entered.

Jake became a little better after this and he never got worse, the headaches where mostly twice a month unless his days where filled with lots of business which usually triggered another attack. Most the kingdom didn't know of the king's problem and just saw him getting stinking drunk, even a few lions talked about the ability to overthrow the king now if they could get past his son.

Tatter ignored it, kept going to school, and started helping his father with his kingly duties, and finally one day he reached eighteen, and an immense celebration amongst the land was held, the prince was now an adult, and Riki anointed him the official next king. His mane had grown large and full, and his dad had grown older, yet the day of the apocalypse never came. There where still trials to go through though, before Tatter was quite ready to loose his father to a disease or something else.

He was now in his last year of being a student, taking and alchemy class taught buy one of Rafiki's old students. He now saw why his brother had taken such an interest, this stuff was interesting, and mixing certain ingredients of different plants could do a vast variety of good and bad things. It was in this class the first lioness other than his family, ever snuggled him while the teacher was out. They had been classmates for a month now since the beginning of class; they had worked on projects together. Her mother was another teacher in a class he didn't take, and her whole family was pure bred dark orange lions. They had begun to flirt as of late, giving each other eyes, her name was Nikita.

The first time she sat with him he had fallen in love, but his past failures kept him from making any moves, he instead just kept watching her, talked with her, and became friends. It quickly moved past that, soon they where chatting outside of class, talking to each other, telling of each others pasts, and pretty much flirting.

One day the teacher walked off to consult with Nikita's mother about an ingredient he was about to introduce to the class when out of no where Nikita snuggled his neck, at first he was surprised, then he put his head over hers and offered a snuggle back. They didn't notice the teacher had come back and when Tatter did he pulled back off of her in surprise.

The teacher was a lion missing one of his front legs, apparently it had been lost in a stampede he had caused as a young lion, but he walked around on three remaining ones with ease. "Save that for you own time you two." He told them, getting a laugh from some of the other lions in the group, both Jake and Nikita blushed hard at this.

This went on for a week, one day before his practice in his Play and Music groups Tatter found Nikita wondering around the area. "What are you doing here?" he asked surprised.

She was surprised as well, "I have young lioness acting class, why?"

"You're one too?" he laughed,

"Yeah, no way, what do you do?"

Her paw covered his all of a sudden and he began to blush, it was at this moment he realized how much he loved this pretty young adult lioness, it turned out later that she was two years younger than him but that didn't matter at all to him. "I- uh, I'm mostly into the musical scene, you?"

"Dancing," she said quietly, then she sighed and began to walk away.

Tatter looked around in surprise, what had happened? "Nikita what's wrong?"

She turned back, "We can't keep doing this, it's wrong, I'm still with my last lion."

He drew back, she was taken, but he rushed forward, "You have a mate?"

She shook her head, "No, not a mate, no ones ever…well you know. But he is my boyfriend, this is wrong, on you mostly."

"Just break up with him."

"As if, oh shit," she said looking a ways away, towards a spotted panther.

"What's wrong?"

"It's one of his friends, they saw us I'm sure of it." She started off and turned back, "I'll see you later I promise."

And there went the only girl he'd ever have a chance with, already taken, but if he could challenge her mate, no he assured himself, her _boyfriend,_ he'd have a fighting chance. The drums announced he was late for practice, he could already hear Darrell showing off.

The next day in class he eyed her, she was sitting next to another lioness, he'd have to partner up with someone else ore be on his own. She eyed him to; it was a shy unsure smile she gave him, as he sat alone in the back of class. His teacher gave him some new materials so he could work alone, then got closer, "Something happen between you two?" he asked.

"Dunno yet, we'll see."

The teacher gave him a quizitive look, then shook his head, "Whatever."

That class they learned about sea salt and its uses, as well as where to find it and how using its lesser cousin in the deserts to the east didn't really work. But the whole class Tatter didn't listen to a thing, he just eyed the girl he had started to love, what was she up to?

After class he tried to catch up with her, she was talking to the girl she had sat with, and nodded to her when he walked up, the girl walked away. "I can't talk now Tatter; I've got something important to do first."

"But, why?" he asked, completely confused, his ears back, what was she doing?

But she put a paw to his mouth, "Not now, later."

He sighed; giving up, as she walked away, what the hell was she up to? Sulking in doubt he decided he'd skip practice that night and headed home. At his home he sulked up on the ledge of pride rock till his brother came around, his brother was now eleven, and starting to grow bigger, he plopped down next to Tatter. "What's wrong kemosabe?" He asked

"Not much, just some girl trouble, how's it going with you?" Tatter asked gnawing on a piece of grass.

"Well I don't mean to show you up," he laughed, "but I got my first girlfriend!"

Tatter shouldered him, "No way! Already, way to go! Anyone I know?"

"I think you knew her sister, Summer?"

Tatter laughed shaking his head, "Fuck you too."

Lien just laughed, "What'd I do?"

That night the brother's plaid push the rock, Tatter ended up telling his brother about the whole story between him and Nikita.

"Sounds mysterious, I'd say wait her out, may be worth it."

Tatter nodded, it was getting late and he was about to ask if they'd call game when there father showed up.

"Mind if I joined?" Jake asked.

Tatter shrugged, "not at all."

Buy the time they where done it had grown to midnight, and Tatter was exhausted and slept there alone on the rocks. Not long after he was woke buy an anxious nuzzle, he was surprised to be staring into the dark face of Nikita.

"Niki? What's going on?" He said getting up groggily wiping some moisture out of his eyes.

"Ask me out." She shrugged,

"What?" he said scratching his mane, he was still asleep.

She giggled, "Ask me out!"

He shook his head trying hard to think, "Um, you wanna go out?"

"Yes" she said and nuzzled him.

He let her nuzzle him, it was something he didn't get much of, it felt good having a girl other than his mother love him. When she was done he stared at her still confused and still partly asleep, "Wait, what happened?"

She laughed, "I woke you, I'm sorry, but you see, I broke up with him tonight."

"You mean?"

"Yeah Chris, where' no longer together."

He began to grin and nuzzled her back, hard and affectionate, and she fell backwards, and pushed him back a little, "Whoa, down boy!" she laughed.

"Heh, sorry!"

She shook her head, "No it's okay, listen, I gotta get home but meet me tomorrow after class."

"Can I sit with you again?" he asked anxious

She shrugged, "It's mostly up to you but I was hoping to keep sitting with my new friend, she's not really someone with friends."

He nodded, "I understand, I'm sure you make her feel real loved."

She nuzzled him again and then turned, briskly walking down pride rock.

Tatter sighed watching her go, and then felt a strong paw slap him on the back making him jump. Jake laughed a hearty laugh that woke a lioness near them, "You dog! I thought I was going to watch you two do it out here!"

"Dad!!!" he wined looking away. "Quite!"

"Ha! Come on, you know you wanted to."

"Shut up, leave us alone."

Jake just laughed and hugged his son "I'm glad you finally found somebody,"

Tatter nodded, "So am I."

There relation ship grew over the next few weeks, it came out of the hot seasons to the cooling season, the season when most of the mating happened in the prides but Tatter didn't feel quite that ready yet. Instead he spent that day with her, they had private meals all day, they plaid at the watering hole, and traveled part of the land and he was showing her a history of the kingdom she never knew.

"And this is where my parents where married."

She nuzzled him, "How romantic, you think we'll get married one day?"

He nodded, "I want us to last forever Niki, I love you." He said, and she smiled at him, then she pushed him with her head and he fell onto his side.

He rolled on his back, "What was that?" he laughed, but then she lied on top of him, and he blushed, and she kissed him. Then they just lied there as he put his paws around her.

"I love you Prince Tatter, prince or not, you're my king, forever."

And he took that for what he thought it meant, that she meant it, but it didn't take long for a darker side of her to show. While switching classes one day he was caught up buy her ex, a skinny lion about the same age as his love, and he seemed nice enough, but Tatter didn't like one thing he had to say.

"She's all trouble," he insisted as Tatter walked to meet his Nikita before their class, "I'm telling you she cheats, and bad.

He scoffed, "She's a virgin, believe me, I know." He smirked.

"That's not what I mean, egh, listen, stalk her a little, especially around the guys she hangs out with most, I swear you'll catch her!"

Tatter turned to the young man growling, "If you value you're life you'll stop spreading lies about her! I understand you're mad at me, and jealous, but what your doing will get you in trouble, especially if she becomes the next queen." He said holding his head high in the royal manner, "Now get lost!"

He shook his head, "Fine," the yellow lion said, "but once you find out don't come groveling to me for help!"

Tatter tried to ignore the ex's warning, but it kept playing over and over in his head. It still was three days later after practice when he caught her kissing another kid near the practice area. When they practiced if they didn't do it at the same time one went to watch the other, sometimes the dancers and the singers worked on the same project, Nikita and Tatter had been in several plays together. Latter she'd admit that she first noticed him when she started having an asthma attack near his stage area one day; he had noticed her having the attack but not really noticed who she was. This day they where suppose to have separate practice and meet up to watch the sun go down near the waterhole. Instead she was with one of the guys she hung out with allot, his name was Karl, he was a short stunted lion with no mane, despite being pure blood, and a lazy eye, and Tatter swore he was mentally retarded, but for some reason she kissed him. Looking back on it later he supposed he could've overreacted but it sure did seem affectionate at the time.

His eyes welled with tears, and she spotted him and pulled back acting surprised, he made for the watering hole buy himself, not caring if she followed, he just felt more hurt than he had ever been. He sat near a tree in the water hole within the grasses so no one would see him weep.

Nikita approached him cautiously, her ears back, "What's wrong?" she asked.

He looked at her, hurt, confused, a little angry, "How can you ask that?"

She laughed, "What do you mean?"

"I saw yall!" he yelled and started to sob.

She tried to nuzzle him and he turned away, "Don't be such a crybaby, where just good friends, like brother and sister even, he doesn't exactly have friends."

He just kept quite, tears dropping onto the ground.

"Listen, honey, I _swear _on my own soul it was nothing, I love you and only you. Karl is _nothing, _pleas grow up a little. I love you!"

He looked cautiously back to her, "You swear?"

She nuzzled, and then kissed him, "I swear"

He wiped his eyes with his paws and tried to stop, smiling at her in sad way, he wanted nothing more in the world to believe her, so he did.

That night after he was done straitening up, they did watch what was left of the sunset, and then they made out, not love, but innocent make out. As they held each other again Tatter sighed, "Listen, I'm sorry, you're just my only love I've ever actually had and I guess I can't bear ever thinking you might be taken away."

She nuzzled him affectionately, "That's so sweet, I promise I'm not going anywhere."

And she didn't, she was there for him and he was there for her, the whole year.

When he got home his father was waiting for him with a sly smile, "You say one thing dad I'm going to pop you."

Jake sniffed the air, "Hmm… you don't smell like sex."

"Shut up, we just hung out that's all."

Jake nodded, "I'm just giving you a hard time."

But that conviction wouldn't last, during the mid of the year Nikita tried out for captain of her dance group, and she failed, instead it was given to a larger lioness in her group. Jake and Niki had walked out to a grassy area behind pride rock and she had wept, into his chest, and then she made out with him seeking his comfort, and for the first time they touched each other truly passionately, it never went to far, but it was far enough for satisfy both of them. Then one day he was waiting for her while Nikita talked to her mother about something, after her mother left Nikita slyly took her boyfriend into the woods near where her mother taught class, and at first it started as usual. But before either knew what they where getting into they started to make passionate love, it was the first for both, painful at first for Niki but pleasurable for both the rest of the time. When they finished they lie there for a while.

"Did we just?" he started

Nikita laughed, "I hope to god we did, or I got one hell of an imagination that just ran away."

He nuzzled her back, "We smell like it too, everyone's going to know."

"So?"

"Well I dunno how your mom will take it, but I'm going to have the hell ragged out of me by my father."

She looked almost insulted. "Embarrassed?"

"Not at all, not buy this at least, buy dad, yeah." He itched his scar nervously and she just kissed it.

"Let's get washed."

They eventually went off to try and wash up at the watering hole, but it didn't help because they just did it again afterwards. When he got home he did get some dogging from his father, but more of it was praise of success, surprising, he'd expect more parents to be a little apprehensive of the subject. For the rest of the year it was like this, allot, they made love like a couple of rabbits, yet unlike rabbits she never conceived, and that was fine for them.

Tatter did other things as well when he was away from his girl or not doing things _for _her, he hung out with his growing brother allot, practiced in musicals, and started nearing the end of his education. He loved her more than anything though, and did most he could for her. And the year ended like this, she watched him graduate from his classes, and made love to him again, and then they picked out a spot they'd think was nice to get married if it happened to them, or if he ever got her pregnant.

He brang her a mouthful of dandelions one day and she chastised him for killing plants, then laughed and accepted them, for that whole day her nose was in the flowers. Finally it came to her last competition of the year; she was going up against the champions from the pride land to the north of them, her team and the other team danced as hard as they could each. In the end Nikita lost, which made her sad but she had her mate to make her feel comfortable and loved, but to him it was too close to call between the two teams.

The year ended in joy, but there was something that was bothering him, as it did draw to a close, and he started making plans for marriage, a marriage she had accepted to take on, he noticed her drawing away, she'd be busy some times she usually wasn't, she'd disappear for hours and he'd have no idea where she would go, and he swore some times she looked like she was busy with someone else, but he shook the feeling, he loved her and wouldn't let jealousy get in the way.


	5. Chapter 4

Ch4

Jake awoke to a roar as the ground shook, the smell of sulfur saturated the air, somewhere in the distance there where explosions and sounds of lions dying. He cried out, as he awoke again, to another roar, this time more a painful sorrowful roar, it was coming from his wife, and she was nudging his mother.

"Mom!" he jumped to his feet, and nudged her paw, she was motionless; he looked worriedly to his wife.

"I'm sorry, she must've died in her sleep," she cried, and he held her as he began to weep himself. And they roared in unison, in sorrow for his loss.

Hearing the roar Brae ran into the room, but it didn't take him long to figure it out and start crying himself, all he saw was his brother and his wife in law sitting standing over his mother's motionless figure. Even Kiara was already up though she looked more worried than sad. He cried, to himself for he had no one to cry to yet, but both the King and the Queen eventually came over and they all comforted each other.

Tatter walked in surprised on the emotional scene, and walked up to the adults worried. "Dad?"

His father and mother took him into the growing circle, "You're grandma's passed son."

His ears went back, "Mattie? No way! She didn't even seem sick, how!?"

"It was her time." Kiara said as she walked up to the circle, she had wept a little but seemed the most composed out of the group, "Anyone know what happened."

Her daughter shook her head, "No, I went to wake her cause I had a question and she wouldn't wake, at first I thought she was just being her usual heavy sleeper and almost walked away, but then.." she sniffed, "I just smelled it, it smelled like death and like waste." She buried her face into her sons mane and cried some more.

Her mom consulted her, "I'm sorry you had to go through that baby, it's strange to think just not so long ago I met her when your husband moved in and she was so lively and young, but I guess we all move on."

It didn't make it any easier, but he made a vow to her, he'd give her a burial like no other.

And so it was it was the first burial where the king spoke, and he spoke solemnly of her, "Mattie was one of the greatest women I ever knew, she loved her husband her kids and her family, and everyone around her no matter what. At a young age she lost her husband to a tragic accident, and yet she still found the power to take care of two young children and hunt, she deserved better than anyone could've given her. When we lost our home she found us a new one, and when I got my dumb ass kicked out of the ravine." He stopped, some of the family and friends snickered at this, "she…she never forgot me, she always visited. And when she became the mother of a Prince, she never let it go to her head, despite claiming she'd do so she never even abused our servants." He laughed in spite of himself "She insisted on doing everything herself, and went out of her way sometimes to teach me right from wrong." He recalled, in his mind, the night she had embarrassed his drunken stupor, and he smiled again. "She will be dearly missed," he said looking back to her lifeless body, he started to weep again, "and" he started, and sobbed, then breathed in trying to keep his composure, "and I know that she has gained herself a position in the stars with the kings of our past." Then he had to stop and come out of the spot light, he walked over to his wife and cried on her shoulder as some of the male lions, including Davine, his cousin, threw his mom down a deep hole and buried her. It was the circle of life, she'd return to the earth, and be part of the circle.

Tatter also wept allot during the burial, he had loved his grandma who had spoiled him rotten with anything he had asked of her. His last memory of her was just from a couple of days ago, she had willingly plaid push the rock with him despite most lions his age where outgrowing it, it was something he would never outgrown. Nikita had skipped coming to the burial, she had insisted she never liked them and only went if it was her own family.

He was busy consoling and crying with his little brother who at his young age, just starting to become a teen, hardly understood why lions had to die.

That day, as the sun rose on the grieving crowd, which was quite large, Jake was surprised he had forgotten just how large his family spread, the proceedings finished and everyone retired to what appeared that was going to be a lazy day. All day while everyone mostly got over the loss just to go on with there own lives both Jake and Brae didn't seem able too.

Instead both the brothers sat out on the ledge the rest of the day recounting their childhood. "You really watched me that much?" Brae asked looking over his brother's land, somewhere in the distance a mass of wildebeest stampeded.

"Yeah, you don't remember at all?"

Brae shook his head, "I remember very little of when I was young, I don't even remember dad."

Jake shook his head, "Nah, you where really too young when he passed, you wouldn't."

"I can't believe she's gone, she seemed so happy."

Jake kicked at a pebble, "I bet you she faked it."

"Wha?"

"I bet you the whole time she was in pain she faked it, she's probably known she was going to pass for a while and didn't tell us she was going to pass."

Brae nodded, then nuzzled into his brother, he felt like he'd start crying if he didn't get some kind of comfort, he didn't have a lady to turn to like his brother, and Jake was just fine with that. "Hell of a way to find out."

"I know, poor Sara."

Tatter meanwhile had left his little brother with his other grandmother, and walked sulking a little around the water hole, when Nikita caught up with him. "You ok?" She asked a little afraid to approach him.

He smiled, nodding, "I'm fine, just a little sad I guess, didn't expect grams to die on us." He sat and stared into the water, "Why do we have to die? I mean I know why we die, but why does the world give us such things to deal with."

She rubbed up against him and sat leaning on him, "Because it divides the better and worse people in the world." She kissed him and he leaned back on her.

"I love you," he said as she began to purr, "and don't you never go and die on me."

"I'll try my hardest."

It came not long after around to Nikita's birthday, the first Tatter would share with her, he had planned a full night's range of events, but when he caught up with her after classes she shook her head. "Tonight's no good," she said.

"Aw but Niki, I've reserved us a spot buy the river we like to hang out," he pleaded

"I know but,"

"Come on, I have some royal staff on this, there hunting _for _us, there going to wait on us hand and foot."

She sighed, "It does sound nice,"

"Please,"

She laughed, "Ok you big baby, move the plans up, I have to be home before sunset."

"Done!" he exclaimed excitedly

That afternoon, instead of a starlight dinner on the river near his dad's old home, they had dinner at dusk. In a way it was nicer, and more romantic, the sun setting turned the water to different colors in its reflection, and they sat so close to each other they may have been on each other. As promised several royal servants waited on them, hunted them a meal, and served them some delicacies, including a small shell off some of the royal drink reserve, what he had come to know as his dad's medicine. At the end of the night they sat and watched the sun set.

"I'm late; he's going to be mad at you." She said leaning on him.

"Who?"

"N- no one," she said a little apprehensive, pushing off of her boyfriend, "but I do gotta go."

He nuzzled her, "come on, one for the road," he eyed her teasingly.

She laughed and kissed him, "I'd love to but tonight I have a family thing, the last thing I need to do is smell like sex during it."

Tatter laughed heartily, "I guess so, I'll walk you back."

She nuzzled him, "that'd be fine."

But as they drew nearer her cave he noticed she seemed to draw farther away from him, as they where coming upon her home she was walking inches away from him, the furthest away she had been all night. She turned to him and gave him a little bow and a wink, "Thanks for the night" Then she was off.

He watched her edge around her cave to the back, he thought she was acting mighty strange, but he shook off the feeling and turned back towards her home, despite this oddity it had been a good night and if she was to act weird, he wouldn't hold it against her. He laughed, maybe her family didn't know they where going out.

Nikita came around to a shadowed side of the cave and already smelled the one in wait.

"Who was that?" the male in the shadows ask

"Just a friend."

"Looked like the prince, you're not courting the prince are you?"

She laughed, "I wish, no you're the only one babe."

Two strong paws came up and gripped her shoulders from the grassed, "You swear?"

"I swear." She smiled half heartedly at him

"Then come on, you promised we would tonight."

Tatter got this strange feeling that he couldn't get out of his head on his way home, he didn't understand it, he just knew something was wrong, he shook it off, nothing was wrong he assured himself.

The year passed up well despite how odd she had acted that one night, yet something was different about her, she seemed to be in a gleaming mood most of the time and he couldn't figure out why, until one day. He had taken his brother, along with his mother, while Jake staid home doing other kingly duties, to the northern lion's pride lands, a different kingdom, he had gone over officially for talk and meeting with the king before he agreed to renew the treaty between there lands. During dinner, everything was going smooth, the king liked the prince and the girls seemed to keep eyeing his sliver of silver in his mane, which made him a little uncomfortable if not embarrassed. Then a message bird from his kingdom came over, "Sire, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but…" the bird looked around.

"Well go on." Tatter waved at him.

"No, It's a little more personal, better we do this outside."

Tatter gave him a weird look than shrugged back to the king who shrugged back to him and waved him off. Outside Tatter kept watching the bird as it paced back and forth, "Oh don't kill the messenger please!"

Tatter laughed, "Uh what is it, my dad ok?"

"Fathers doing fine, not a headache in months, but you know that, I came about Nikita."

Jake was quickly on his toes again, "Niki? Something happen to her."

"That's exactly it, let me start from the beginning, I was out scouting as the king asked when I saw your mate, with another lion and some lionesses, at first I though related or friend, but they where awfully close…and then they had sex when they split from the group."

"What!?" Tatter growled, some of the lionesses inside peered at them from the sitting place of dinner within the cave.

The bird flinched, then regained his composure when he looked at the prince, he wasn't going to attack, at least not him, every muscle was tensed, his mane hung around his down cast faith, he was angry, and hurt. "I'm sorry sir, but I even thought to confront her after wards, at first it was as if she was caught with a dirty little secret, the guy even offered to eat me for her. But then she just told me to tell you yall where off, that she loved this guy instead."

A mighty paw came down on the bird and the bird flinched, but the paw was gentile, loving almost "That's something more a friend than a royal servant would do; remind me to appoint you as my advisor when I become king."

"Why sir, I'm-"

"I meanwhile" the prince cut him off, below his breath was a growl so low and quite yet so terrifying no one would ever want to get in his way, "have business to take care of."

He asked the king for dismissal as nice as he could at the time, "It's fine young prince, go back to your kingdom, I can tell you have something serious to take care of, I'll eat with your family and send them on there way, by the way tell your father the treaties back on and he can come up here to make it official whenever he has the time."

And Tatter rushed home, buy the time he entered the pride lands it was glimmering into morning, and buy the time he came to the watering hole it was quarter to noon, and there he saw them on the north side of the water hole, they where sleeping, she was in his arms, and they reeked of sex. His growling just grew until he let out a mighty, angry, yet pain filled roar that had the two jumping to their feet.

The man, a dark lion he'd never seen in hi life, jumped in front of him, "Leave her be."

The prince easily batted the guy aside, he slid into the grasses, where he lie out of the princes way, and meanwhile Tatter with a fire in his eyes that measured beyond anything his father or grandfather could have cooked up confronted his mate. Her tail was between her legs, her ears where down, her back arched, afraid of impending doom.

"Why?" he growled.

"I-uh, I'm sorry Tatter, we where just not meant to…"

He pushed her, "You promised!"

She backed up a little, "Tatter!"

Tears started to douse the fire in his eyes, and he just closed his eyes and sat, a tear fell around the right of his muzzle, "You promised," he said weakly.

Nikita just stared at him, what had she just saw just then, the might of a king or the fury of something darker and stranger? "Listen, I'm sorry, we can still be friends," she said drawing close.

Then he did something he'd swore he'd never do, the anger reentered his paw, his claws retracted, and he swiped the left side of her face. She drew back with a gasp and a growl, and then just sat her own paw against the wound. At this her new boyfriends was out of the bushes. "Leave her alone!" he growled.

Tatter sighed, "I never want to see either of you near pride rock again."

"But" the guy started

"NEVER!" he growled, "or death will be the penalty." He then walked up to the lion, and stared into his eyes, "You seem like a good man, along time ago, well maybe about a year ago, when I fell in love with her I ignored the warnings given to me buy her ex, she _is _a slut, and will cheat on you, I pass the warning on, as you will do no doubt to the next if the cycle is not broken, you can choose to ignore my words as well, or you can keep a closer eye on her than I did, don't trust her," he looked at his now x girlfriend, "and maybe you'll be the one to tame her."

He walked past both of them and down to the kingdom, part way there he crouched into the grasses and started crying to himself and for himself, "I've been such a fool." The young adult, the future king, already had too much thrown at him, and there he cried not only for himself but for every adult in the world that felt the loneliness of loosing what was suppose to be there one true forever love. He cried for at least an hour, when he finally got up off the ground his lower side was matted with dirt and mud had started to form beneath his head. He shook himself off and headed home, not too far away was pride rock, and he made a promise to himself, no matter what, he'd try to keep inside that keep for as much as possible.

As the year went on, he never forgot her, or what she was suppose to be, many nights his parents or his brother would catch him silently weeping himself to sleep. Yet no one ever asked why, why he'd take up his father's window at night not being able to sleep till he cried himself to sleep, or why he kept crying a year after, or a year after that.

Nikita got herself pregnant with her new mate, but when it came to her third month of pregnancy, during a nightly labor she became sick, and from atop pride rock even Tatter heard her howl in pain when she lost her unborn child inside her home, and the lions and lionesses that roared for her. Yet for some reason he never wept for her, it was the first time in a long time he hadn't needed to weep, because there on the ledge of pride rock he no longer felt sleep pulling away from him, as wrong as it was, it was as if she had gotten what she deserved. He never thought that himself, he never knew why he slept so soundly on that ledge, but the lions and lioness friends of his, and family, who were putting two and two together, some of them thought that, and more.

He was twenty one now, and he was being taught only buy his father what it meant to be king. He learned a great many things from Jake. He also began, despite his promise, to be more of an outside person, he Hung with his brother Lien and his never ending supply of woman that wanted Lien. Despite only being fourteen lien had made it with several lionesses, he was one of those lions that where just like that, he'd grow up living in a cave one day with a family of lionesses all to his own and children abundant, it was lions that where like that, that usually set off to form there own pride lands and be there own kings, and Tatter only felt the evermore proud for him, if he was going to have another ally what better would it be than his brother.

Something darker was astir though, down in the forbidden lands of the elephant graveyard volcanic streams and smoke began to form again, something they hadn't seen the like off since Simba's return, something no one really remembered happening. While it wasn't too bad more often than not it darkened the sky, and made the air smell bitter with soot. Riki even predicted that it was an omen of immense proportions, and his father just kept staring at it.

During one of the nights where the smoke was the strongest he caught his father staring at it intensely and meant to find out what was going on.

Before he said a word his dad was answering, "It's from my visions, from my dreams, that smell, the smell filled the land, a land that was littered with the bones of our people son." He looked down at his son, "and every time I look at it my head throbs and it dawns on me what I have done, had you taken in the stone instead of me, you would be having the headaches and the returning nightmares now, not me. And you'd be the one I see dead in the my visions as was the first I ever saw, but now, your the young lion standing on the mountain looking over the waist land that used to be ours, and I can see myself, I am yet to be dead, but I am dying, look at my mane." He pawed it, "it's starting to grey, and look of the sky, it speaks of doom."

"So it was nothing we could ever stop was it father?"

Jake shook his head, "No, but buy god where going to go down there and have a look at it, and if we need we will evacuate into your neighboring pride lands and move as far as we have too, I will not have our kingdom _and _it's people destroyed, I will change the future, even if that future means you'll no longer be the future king, and our land will be lost to what seems to be hell itself rising through the ground."

They went down to the elephant graveyard but didn't make it far, rivers of lava filled the canyon burning and melting bone and rock, any hyenas that had been caught in here must already have been dead, nothing but the bubbling of molten earth made a sound. "This is not how it was suppose to be."

Tatter looked at his father, "What do you mean?"

Jake shrugged, "Grow up, rule the land, pass it on, it's as if our family is cursed buy misfortune, I know you've had your own share." He nuzzled his son. "And I swear you will be king if I have to somehow bring down the mountains myself!"

"Dad" Tatter said returning the compassion, "Thanks dad but don't dream to big" he laughed.

But the years went on, as steady smoke poured from the grave yard, and no Armageddon came, nothing mystical happened. A few packs where forced to relocate further from the mess due to breathing problems, but it wasn't anything too serious.

Yet Jake and Tatter both felt that something was coming to an end, what they didn't realize that it was an era coming to an end, the era of the greatest kings they ever knew, Simba and Mufasa, there where still two people important in their lives that lived on with their memories and blood in their veins or in there trust.

When Tatter reached twenty three when he had accidentally wandered upon the dying bird, Zazu seemed extremely sick and called the young prince to his side. "It's my time." He said

The young adult drew back a little, he never liked dying things, "No, it'll pass Zazu, just be strong!"

The hornbill shook his head, "I am way past my time, and now it is my time I shouldn't deny it, I know you will grow to be a strong king, and choose a good advisor for yourself." He let a little snort, "Please, I know something bad is to happen in the near future, you father has foreseen it, but what he does not know of is the prophecy which was spoken buy Rafiki so many years ago, something Simba only shared with me. You will save the world, please don't fail our land sire." He let out a short squawk, and then fell still suddenly. Tatter nodded, and bowed to the bird, something royalty was suppose not to do, especially to servants, but this great bird had lived since Mufasa, and it's the least he deserved.

Picking up the bird he met Sara and her mother down in the lower caves, and they buried him as the fourth grave amongst the great friends of royalty. Kiara said she'd like to think there was a place they went afterward where they all met, she knew that they returned to the earth after death, but she wished that they returned to families within the earth, to loved ones, to feel and love once again.

And yet she who had seen era's and two kings pass, her time drew near too, as the end of those related to Simba came about to an end, so had her time. Less than a year after the death of Zazu lied to rest she wandered down to the river that was close to her son in laws old home. Yet when she reached the water her daughter was standing in front of it.

"Sara"

"Listen mom, I got to see my grandmother disappear and the kingdom panicky, but not you mother, you are of royal blood, and you will be seen off as such."

From the shadows that starry night came on the other side of the river came several dozen lions and lionesses, all of them looking at her with pride, and joy, and some tearing up with loosing the last of a great legacy of kings. Riki came to them from the side that only Sara and her mother took, carrying a giant leaf, he set it down and held it still within the waters, and he bowed, "your majesty." He called her.

She climbed in the leaf that somehow held her wait, and looked amongst the waters, she could see the new family of kings and queens, she could see many faces she knew and many she did not, she curled up on the leaf, and fell asleep one last time. When Riki heard that final sigh he let the leaf go, and Kiara floated down river, towards the distant seas of an unknown land, she'd be going where none of there pride had ever gone before, and Sara knew she too was destined to be amongst the kings of their lands and to watch over and protect them.

Both Jake and Tatter came to comfort her, her youngest Lien, who now almost had a full mane, was with them. Lien had inherited the weird coloring genes they all had mixed since their grandfather; while he was a yellow lion, he had a dark mane, this didn't help with anything but attract more girls. Speaking of, his latest girl, Rain, was with him, he stuck with yellow lionesses, and this one was a beauty if Tatter had ever seen one.

Tatter never got another girl, he tried of course but being the future king didn't make any of the lionesses any more keen to being with him, and it was all fine for him, if he ever did mate again he'd want one he could trust and would love him. There was a lapse during his twenty third year not long after his mother in law died when he fell back in with Nikita, while she was still with her last mate. He quickly saw the error of his ways and asked her to choose, she chose her new mate. He agreed, it was the best thing for anyone, he never saw either of them after that, but redrew the ban keeping them from coming close to the pride rock so they could once again use the watering hole.

And life went on, as perfect as ever, for the next few years.


	6. Chapter 5

Ch5

When tatter was Twenty five he watched his father get older, and his father watched him get lonelier.

"You know son." Jake started as they sat one day watching the land, "girls aren't the only thing in the world to keep yourself entertained."

Tatter sighed, "there just the only thing that matters."

"No, you don't need children or wives to be happy, just be a good king and the next in line will go to a relative of yours."

Tatter shook his head, "You're not help-"

"I'm going to have a kid!"

"Oh god," Jake moaned, kicking a rock at his other son who was bounding up the rocks, at eighteen he had grown a large mane, even if it was an odd dark color. "You're note helping!"

Lien laughed, "What was that?"

"Where happy for you," tatter smiled sadly, "is Rain as ecstatic about it as you?"

"Who? No! I'm having it with Sam"

Tatter gave his father a weird look, "Who?"

"Jesus Christ I dunno, I've way beyond lost count."

Tatter turned back to his brother, "well that's great Lien, don't forget to tell mom."

"Oh yeah!"

"Damn I'm surprised I already don't have too many grand kids with him around." Jake laughed as he watched Lien enter the cave.

Tatter sighed, "I wish _I _had it that easy, I'd give up kingship for a half a dozen wives."

"No you wouldn't." His father laughed standing, turning towards the cave.

His son followed, "And why not?"

Jake laughed, "Once you have one you'll realize that one is enough."

"What's that?" Sara stopped them, she had already smothered Lien buy the looks of his mane.

"Nothing dear." Jake tried to recover

Tatter laughed nervously, "Yeah just talking about food."

Sara eyed the two and turned back, "That's what I thought."

"Nice save," his father whispered. "You should get yourself a wife."

"Shuddap," tatter rolled his eyes.

In his twenty fifth year he took on allot of adult roles, he met with every alliance land they had, and visited all the meetings his father held. Each of the lands began to learn about his fathers predictions, and while most of them took it seriously some of them scoffed at the idea. Either or everyone agreed that if needed, anytime, their pride lands could evacuate into their ally lands if needed.

When he was twenty six his nephew was born, he too carried the families tradition at odd coloring, but he was born albino, a pure white lion, despite having no albino blood in either their, or Sam's, family. He was still the first boy born of Tatter's family, and unless he had a sibling of his own Tatter would pass the crown onto this lion.

And the year moved on, until he was twenty seven, at twenty seven the world came to an end.

Tatter had grown to be a tall average sized adult, while he was the talk of woman, especially with his eyes, the scar, and the white bunch of hair that persisted to resist his mane's grooming, he never got another woman. This was the year he tried again and got the closest, during the year he had begun to hang out with a new group of lions. They usually met at a northern waterhole that had developed in the last year and played and ignored aging. There Fakir a chubby lion a little younger than Tatter who used his weight to push around other lions, and Cesar an extremely lanky lion with an oddly matted mane. The lioness he fell for this time was one named Megan, she was an orange lion that was quite average but in Tatter's eyes she was beautiful.

Before he made his move on her though another lion did, not but an hour before he was going to make his own. He had a yelling match with this guy he called a friend and almost fought, but in the end he turned away. He sulked around the water hole they hung out at, until Cesar perked up a little.

"Anyone else feel that?" the lion asked pushing his scraggily mane out of his ears.

They all did soon, and they noticed that the noon sky was soon blackening.

"What the?" Nathan said loosing balance over and over.

Tatter jumped, "Its happening!? God, everyone back to your families, get out of the pride lands now!"

Tatter ran as quick as he could, when he got to the watering hole near pride rock he gasped, the water and turned boiling hot, disfigured, almost cooked, dead lions floated within it. When he reached pride rock he looked up into the dark smoky sky and saw his father standing atop pride rock, his graying mane blowing in the heat induced wind. His mother and his brother in law where already at the bottom of the rock.

"Tatter we gotta go."

Tatter stared up at his father who was watching his land to the end with pride as all the other lions that could evacuated, and shook his head, "I must stay, I have to stay with him."

"Tatter!" his mother called after him, but it was too late; tatter was climbing the rocks to his father.

When tatter walked up onto the ledge and sat it was hard not to gasp. "It's happening." In the distance from where the graveyard once existed rose a new mountain, into the heights this new mountain spewed fire.

"Tatter you shouldn't be here." Jake ordered of his son

"It's as if hell itself is rising," Tatter ignored is father

"Tatter!"

"Shut up! Dad, you've seen it, me standing here watching over the land while your dying, I will _not _let you die alone!" He cried.

"Tatter" Jake started then stopped; he drew his son close and joined him, "We'll do this together, just you and I."

"No" the lions turned, standing there was Brae, Sara, Lien, and all of Liens women, Sam was holding her son. They all had tears in their eyes; some of them had let them go. "No," Brae choked, "We will do this together, all of us."

Lien and his lionesses went inside, the rest staid out for a bit. All of a sudden a loud wine pierced Jakes head and he growled in pain, and the mountain beyond exploded in a fury that sent hundreds of burning boulders crashing to the land beside them

"Everyone inside!" Tatter yelled

"But-" Brae argued,

"Now!"

The other lions backed off and entered the cave all except him and his dad. Together they watched as a wall of ash flowed from the fiery mountain and across the plains towards pride rock. From inside the cave it was as if day had turned to night, none of the cloud of ash really entered the cave, but they could no longer see outside. The white lion, Liens child, they had named Triton after the great god of the sea, started coughing, he was too little to call for his father but Lien came for him anyway, he was still only a young adult and yet he knew protecting his family was first and foremost. He cuddled his kid and Sam was next to him the moment he did.

Outside as the smoke cleared Tatter gasped, a look of horror drawing down his face, his world, his home, was destroyed, the ground was lit with dying embers, all the trees where either scorched black, or even worse scorched white. To his right his father let out a small gasp of his own as he struggled with the pain in his head, crouched onto the ground.

"Father your meds!"

"No! I must go!"

"What, no, father, that's stupid talk!"

Jake grinned one last time, "I guess it's my time to save the world, yours will come later little Tatter."

And Jake let out one final painful roar that shook the earth, and the ground, and as his body went limp the red crystal rose and around it the Aura of the late king, and with him sat the last four kings of the land, and each roared in unison from oldest to newest, and with them Tatter roared, and as they roared a great ravine shot from pride rock dividing the land in half, straight towards the mountain of fire, and when it reached the mountain of fire the hell that was entering this earth crashed down in on itself, and the winds started to pick up and carry the clouds of hell away with them.

Then the kings disappeared one buy one, but before Jake did he turned to his son, "The pride will rebuild, you and our family will live on, and you will rule the land.

When the rain started to patter the lands and put out the last of the dying embers and save what little vegetation was left, the rest of the family exited the cave. "What happened?" Brae wondered peering around.

"Dad!?" Lien came bounding out of the cave and nudged his father, who was unresponsive and cold. "Dad no" and the lions and lionesses let out a mournful roar for the new king that passed, that was everyone except Tatter and his mother, for they already knew this day was coming, and they knew exactly where Jake had gone after his death, and for him they only shed a single tear each.

The funeral after was a depressing one, but the new king gave a glorious speech about his father, and the changes he had made in his past life, about the kings before, and the kings to the future, he said this looking at Triton. Meanwhile one of Liens family grew more familiar and caring for the brother of her man, and turned, and to brae that was quite all right. This younger lioness was named Sandra, she was a dark lioness, and five years younger than Tatter, but he took all the comfort he could take.

The day after the funeral they held the crowning ceremony, and because he hadn't taken a wife yet he was crowned alone, yet every animal in the kingdom roared in welcoming the new king, and his new duties.

Of course with a new king meant new treaties, all those ties his father and even he himself had built had to be rebuilt, he had to assure the other lands they'd remain good friends.

His first visit was to the northern pride lands, and he insisted on making all his travels alone. The northern pride lands, ruled buy the only allied lion pride his lands had welcomed him; he proudly announced his pride lands would rebuild and re-invite anyone who left back. He ate a happy feast with the now aging king of the land who welcomed the new king warmly, and this time they finished there feast and they swore to each other a blood oath. He made his visit to this land longer than he had before, beyond his lands the mountain of hell had touched little, while some of the vegetation had died this place was no less than a tropical forest, something he thought was more rare on the world they lived on.

To the west the jaguars agreed to another treaty if Tatter's people would help rid the land of the hyena's which had escaped the destruction the mountain of fire caused. At this he gathered the hyenas with his troops, then forced them back into his land, saying if they shared the land, the hundred year old banishment of their kind would be forgotten. The south of his own pride lands had barely been touched, Rigger's cave was lush with greens surrounding it, almost more than usual. Rigger had begun to grow old as well, though he was no where near death, he still had a few dozen years left on his time card, Pyre had grown into a beautiful woman, and her dark furred sister had even became prettier. The southern posts held and in fact had held some of the escaping lions during the day of destruction, and below them the spotted panthers where all too happy to renew there treaty.

But along with the pride of his father the new king carried, he also carried along, the insanity of a hard life, an insanity he had gained, from his grandfather. The 'everyone hates me' attacks where some of the worse. Tatter would stalk around the cave on a bad day yelling that everyone in the world was against him, and he claimed that women where the worse.

Pride rock since the disaster was mostly taken up buy Lien's women, the one who grew to care the most for Tatter had been the worse to brunt his attacks. It usually happened around sundown when the king was at his worse, he'd hit a couple of liens women, then go for Sandra, the one who cared for him, telling her that she hated him, despised him, and that everyone hated him. It came to that Lien ordered his lionesses to never been alone inside pride rock without him.

Yet none of them knew what was really eating at the new King, he had gained a small portions of his late father's headaches and started seeing flashes of what had passed, and a scarred lion of myths and legends. This drove him to the edge of insanity most nights, and that's why he was.

One day Sara was taken care of him when he had gotten himself ill after a rant when he bit her paw and she yipped, at this everyone just kind of turned their back except for his mother, who just let down a single tear. He gasped at her bleeding paw, "Mom! I don't know, I don't understand!" he held his hand, "What's happening to me?"

At that she agreed to have Riki take a look at him.

"It's nothing physical, my guess it's mental, and most likely mystical," the baboon went on as they sat in his tree, "you see your father was supposed to be the one alive after the disaster to rebuild, you where the one who was suppose to pass. You changed fate, something that is not supposed to happen." The monkey chewed at a fruit, at first this fueled Tatter's anger for no reason, but then he got a hold of himself.

"What can I do?"

The monkey tapped him on the chest, again, and again, he kept persisting until finally Tatter broke and swiped at the monkey's staff. The staff was quicker than his paw and quickly hit him on the head, Tatter growled ready to jump the monkey, then he eyed the wise baboon who held his ground, and his old mother who just looked at him with wonder and a bit of fear.

"You must learn to control that, no medicine in the world can help you young master, you must learn on your own to become the person you once where, before fate had become completely reversed you where never like this."

Tatter shook his head, eyeing the loose grey bunch of hair blocking his sight; he batted it aside, "You're right. I'll try.

He did try, most his sessions took with his mother who he grew to love even more, someone who would take the punishment every time he failed and broke into a fury, and someone that would hold him like the little kid he sometimes broke down into. One day they had finished sessions and he was playing in the leaves, getting some long needed exercise, when he eyed his mother eyeing the sky.

"He's up there you know." Tatter reassured her.

"You think?" she asked

"I know, I've seen them, all of them from Mufasa to father."

She eyed him, "You've _seen _them?"

He nodded, "the day he died, they came out, and they saved our pride land."

She eyed him, then smiled, nodding, "After what we've been through I'll believe that."

When they re-entered the cave that night Lien pulled his brother aside, "Listen, I know you are working on this problem of yours," he hesitated, "uh, please don't ever blow up at my son though, if you ever threaten him, I'll defend him even if it means your life." He tensed, waiting for Tatter to blow up.

Instead he was surprised buy a warm nuzzle, and the king sat in front of all the lions and lionesses, he nodded to his uncle and the rest, "I'd expect no less from any of you, if I was ever to hurt that child or work towards it, or even yell at it, I expect nothing but a full force of aggressive defense from each and every one of you, until I stop or you put me down, is that clear?"

Some of the lions, even Brae looked around, unsure what to say, his mother nodded to him, smiling, "I command it." The king said, and at this all the lions and lionesses nodded, he even heard his brother laugh, and he joined in. The lionesses didn't join, but Sara guessed it was a macho thing because that night, all four lions, Lien, Brae, Tatter who carried his nephew, went out onto the ledge and had a good time.

Buy the time he was ending the year he had his problem under control, not also that but any time he had the feel to attack, Riki, who had seen him hard at work, had given him a drug that would induce a dream filled sleep. Yet his sleep that was not induced buy the mixture of plants was still filled with nightmares, why could he not look away, from that scar.

He was tripping from one of the drug induced trips not long before sleeping one night, and he was out of his mind, when his young nephew came up to him, his white seemed to shine in the darkness. "You're just everyone's little star aren't you shiny?" the king laughed while looking past his nephew to the stars as he lie on the ledge of pride rock, "It's good, they need someone to look forward to, oh father, I've helped rebuild your kingdom, can't he just take over yet." And he was asleep, Triton was of course too young to know anything or understand anything his uncle was talking about, and he was soon asleep next to him.

When Lien came to retrieve his son his brother woke with a start and he paused waiting for Tatter to attack either of them, he instead rushed to the side of pride rock's ledge and threw up, somewhere below a lioness roared in disgust. "Heh, Lien, get rid of it."

Lien turned his head, his black mane whipping in the night breeze a stark contrast to his fur, "What?"

Tatter coughed, grinning against and swallowing another wave of vomit, "The meds throw them out, far away from here, or hell give them back to Riki, I don't care."

Lien laughed, "Why?" buy now his cub was awake and half asleep cuddling against his father.

"Because, I can't stand right now, and I feel like I," he burped and Lien winced at the smell, "And I feel like I just ate a hundred rotten zebra, pleas!"

Lien nodded, "Fine, but one attack and I'm shoving a whole weeks worth in you, understand?"

Tatter laughed, "Who made _you _king?" He sighed, "You're a good man Lien, better than I have turned out, but I promise, I ever attack ever again, and you'll be able to shove a whole fucking year's worth."

Lien nodded, "I'll take that."

Tatter turned laughing, "Wait, not _that _much, I was only joking."

It didn't' take long for his brother to throw out his drugs and let the winds carry around the grasses and powder.

That night when Tatter regained some of his composure, he went on a walk alone amongst the pride land, curving around the waterhole he decided to head south, and sat, beneath the tree his father once had married his mother. "How did you ever do this? I know how, you had a woman at your side, I have my mother but one day her time will come like every lion's time does, and I will have no one but myself. How would you have managed, I know you would have," he said pricking a blade of wheat grass up and chewing on it, "but _how_?"

The baboon descended from the tree slowly using his tail for hanging, "Because he was strong, just like you young Tatter."

Tatter gave Riki a weird look, "Ok, now that's just creepy."

"What brings you here young Tatter? Need some herbs? I smelt yours spilt upon the wind."

He shook his head, "No, I've given them up, besides if I was I'd be at your tree, what are _you _doing here?"

"This is almost a magical spot, a spot where a king is married is sacred and full of memories and predictions of the future, the rock your father carried only helped amplify that feelings of this area, the final remains of the stone are dust here."

Tatter nodded, "I know the story."

Riki grinned opening one eye and finally stepping onto the ground, "Besides I heard you where lonely."

Tatter laughed standing, and starting to walk back towards the watering hole, "Yeah, for companionship, not friend ship."

Riki laughed chasing him, "You don't knock monkey till you try monkey," Riki joked patting his own behind.

"Oh now that's just gross," Tatter laughed pushing the monkey away.

When Riki came back and sat next to the king who sat along with him, looking over the watering hole, he sighed a more serious sigh, "Listen Tatter, I knew you'd be different from the day we met, you where suppose to save the world according to my fathers prediction, you where suppose to be the one up in the sky. You changed fate and that changed you physically almost, mentally allot. But you must never let that change draw you away from who you really are, that singing loving, bright eyed child I've watch grown since birth, I anointed you, watched you get kidnapped buy humans, the whole nine yards."

Tatter nodded, looking at his reflection, if it hadn't been for the scar and the white strands in his mane he'd be the spitting image of his father. "I know, it's just so hard sometimes."

The baboon nodded back, "Yes, I understand that, but it's the difficulties which kings overcome that make them great, that what made Simba, in my opinion, the greatest of all the ones of this lands history."

Tatter nodded, "You know much of our prides history? Wish to share?"

The baboon grinned, he liked teaching, "Well only what my father knew, you see this pride only was born when an ancestor of Mufasa two centuries before his birth started it, it really isn't that old at all."

Tatter swept the land with his paw moving the dirt, "and yet the earth is so ancient." They spent that night becoming fast friends, and he spent that night learning about the beginning of his land, about the first age of his land.

That weekend rains had come, it was unusual for the type of rain they got, light but good, cubs where abundant within his land, and playing plenty. With his brother's permission he and his mother took little Triton out to play in it near pride rock. The white cub got in such a muddy mess that it would take an hour or so of bathing buy his parents to get cleaned, yet it wasn't that that mattered, Sara knew what mattered is that her troubled son was out and playing, and having fun with the closest thing he might ever have to a son. That day he even gave Triton his first pouncing lessons, which the little white lion picked up on a dime.

That night he took his whole family out to hunt and eat near the watering hole, buy the time the moon had begun to rise the skies had cleared, and the family was having fun, despite Sam kept fussing at trying to clean her son who just came back dirtier. Everyone was impressed at how far Tatter had come, he no longer had his strides of anger, even when a lioness took down one of his marks, all he did was laugh and play tackle her. The lioness that had become so close to him became closer, that night as the moon reached it's climax they sat under it staring up at it, and for the first time since Nikita a lioness leaned upon him, in a loving caring way, that was until Brae and his mother caught them and made fun of them, even Sandra, one of Lien's many, blushed a little.

The next morning as he awoke with twilight he thought he smelled sulfur, but when he went to go check it out nothing in the distance, even to the collapsed wasteland that had once been an elephant graveyard, smoked or burned, and he no longer could smell it, shrugging it off he got to his kingly duties. That day he was to announce the opening of the grand station, when the ravine that split his lands opened it wasn't really that deep, and he had an idea to make it a place where lions and others from around the allied lands could meet, hold festivals, and share things foreign and from his land.

The grand idea came over good; each king of each land came to the grand opening the next day. Almost two thousand cats and other animals that weren't on their menu made there way into the party. There where plays, some from the younger cubs from a class he had once taken, there was trading, and just all around parties. He walked the crowded valley wandering what monster he had created when he saw her, an temptress of a girl putting on a show for the other lions, possibly looking for a mate, she was foreign. He sat for the show, nudging a panther next to him "Where's the lioness from."

"From below our plains, outside our lands, I hope you don't mind we brought some not protected buy the treaty in with us."

Tatter shook his head not taking his eyes off the dark lioness, "Nah, she's hot."

The panther laughed and slapped his back, "That she is."

After the show he caught up with her as she was grooming herself, "Hi" he growled trying to act tough, he remembered along time ago someone had told him his tough look needed a tough act if he was going to get any girls.

"I'm not cheep," she smiled slyly at him; she was in a caved indention within the wall saved for show people to rest and storage of various things.

"Not, cheap?"

She stood, moving towards him, her backend swishing with her tail, "But I bet a king could afford me, huh big guy, is that throne of yours all too lonely? I'm only here for the night; it's the only offer anyone will get."

Tatter laughed in spite of himself, "I should've known," he stilled the anger in his heart, the anger at himself, "No, actually I'm here for a buddy, he's quite rich, the panther over there." He pointed into the crowd.

She looked over the crowd, "Where?" she turned back, he was gone, she looked around confused, then re-entered her cave.

As he traveled away from pride rock in the crowds he noted several vendors, some of them offering extremely extravagant gifts. A vendor even told him he had the brother to the stone that was once his fathers, after looking at it he tossed it back to the man telling him he had a very nice fake.

"Fake, what do you know of fake? Who are you?"

"The king of this pride land," he smirked at the vendor jaguars expression, "and a man who had held the real thing."

The jaguar winced, "Listen, take this, it was made buy some apes of my land, its not expensive, but it would go good with your scar," he got up and put a necklace around tatter's mane, it was a rock that shined in the sun, and in the shape of a lightning bolt, "and please keep our…accident a secret."

Tatter played with his new necklace, and nodded, "Will do."

He met up with Nathan in the ravine later on, which laughed and slapped him friendly, and sent the king flying into the wall.

"How _did _you fit down here?" Tatter asked brushing himself off.

"Watch it, there's not much room for you to run from me in here," his fat old friend said, chewing on something that looked as if it had been cooked. Tatter wasn't much for cooked food; he thought it killed all the flavor.

"Heh, yeah, so where you been, haven't seen you since the disaster."

Nathan nodded, "I staid in the northern pride lands, all types of exotic things to eat up there, and my families staid up there so plenty to wait on me." He laughed "but I couldn't resist eating the exotics here, from all around the land, and you, King! Jeez."

Tatter nodded laughing, "God yeah, it's been good if not a little hard. I'd sure like to have you as an associate, might loose some weight doing work for me."

Nathan laughed, "Work? If I'm part of royalty I'm going to be doing nothing but eating the rest of my life, I won't move an inch."

Tatter shook his head, "well you're going to kill yourself one day friend, but I'm glad you haven't changed."

When he reached a certain point royal guards blocked exit at this point, instead there was a trail that lead up out of the ravine, one of the many. Beyond this point was an ashy waist lands, they didn't stop the king though, no one questioned him, instead one of the five guarding the entrance followed him just to keep him safe. Davine and risen the number of guard and troops since taking over, and though he was an aging lion himself he never left a large gathering alone, in fact he was somewhere upon the ledges watching the crowd.

Within the ruins of the elephant graveyards crystals of black rock sparkled, and the smell of soot and sulfur still filled his nose despite it being quite a time recently. The bottom of his paws darkened as soon as he stepped into the land, and he sighed, so much history had gone on in here and was now lost. His grandfather Simba had once gotten lost in here, Ront and even himself and ended up injuring themselves wondering in here when they where each cubs. He wondered if Ront's scar had been as painful and annoying. He never seemed to itch it, and at that he caught himself itching his scar, something he hadn't done in years. He looked into a pool of something that might have been water, and at his eyes, why had his family been the only lions with unique traits like this. His father had the same eyes he had, his uncle was a dark lion with a light mane, and just the opposite Lien was a light lion with a dark mane. Even his nephew had seemingly inherited his grandfathers' traits, a white lion, Tatter had never heard of such a thing.

"Sir." The guard called to him, and Tatter looked back, "We've been here a while, probably not healthy, think we should head back?"

Tatter nodded, "Sure."

When he came back out he noted some of the crowd had moved to the upper ravine, something that wasn't suppose to be happening. He ran quickly to his second cousin, the older Davine who was watching the festivities from up on top.

"This isn't supposed to be happening."

Davine nodded, "I've tested it, it's getting too crowded in there and the sides are ok."

"What if someone falls in?"

"I've mandated a stand back rule and as we are speaking other guards under my guide are building small rock walls to keep people away from the ledges."

Tatter looked around, "Well…ok."

But then someone bumped into him, sending him stumbling back, "Sorry love," was all he heard from some foreign sounding cat when he noticed his back legs had lost land, he gripped the side of the ledge but it was too late, even Davine was rushing for him, but his elder legs just carried him too slow. He felt air rushing pass him as he was drawn downwards, he fell on something soft and then whacked his head against something hard, and blacked out."

When he woke he was in pride rock, judging buy the light it was nearing dusk, and buy the sounds it was still going on outside and he looked around his family, only his mom had noticed that he woke. "What happened?"

Davine was in the room, "Well since that little incident I've pulled our groups even farther away from the edges, and the party looks like it will never end."

Tatter laughed, "Good, our lions need a never ending party these days." He then felt his back; it didn't hurt as much as his head did, "I landed on someone! What happened?"

No one wanted to tell him, they all turned there heads aside from Sara and Sandra. "I order you to tell me commander Davine!"

"Shit," Davine cursed under his breath, "the lioness was killed sir, not much of a loss, some foreign hoar of some kind."

Tatter's heart clutched, "I killed her?"

Davine shook his head, "Not at all sir, gravity did, it was beyond your control, besides if it's anybodies fault it's the dolt who knocked you off, still yet to catch him, he probably made his way back home."

Tatter tried to sit up but his head hurt tremendously, His mom nudged him back down, "Lay down honey, you need your sleep."

"But," he tried to get back up again, when Sandra laid across him from side to side, then lying over on her side, her warm body against his made him feel a little better,

"She said sleep."

The party indeed did go on, in fact it never stopped, while eventually the crowds died a little the ravine did grow to be a normal gathering for the whole pride and their allied, Tatter even went so far as reopening a ravine closed down years ago due to the death of King Mufasa.

One weekend he was surveying what would probably be known as his greatest work when he eyed Nikita, he ducked quickly into a cave, and watched her pass buy, she had her lion from before with her, she seemed different, less wild than before, and they even had a couple of cubs trotting behind them. "Good for you." Tatter whispered, and tensed when the lion looked around, only distracted when his son asked him for some food.

He still felt the pain of her leaving him, she had been his, was suppose to be his and vice versa still, they where to have grown up and had plenty of kids, while he had mostly gotten over her every time a thought of her, a smell of her, or even when he got close to her place, his heart ached a little. He had to move on, and he thought one day when he was ready he'd court Sandra, he just hoped Lien wouldn't put up too much a fight.

That night he sat down for a new entertainment spot, the fighting rings, big cats got together and to duke it out until the ref called it. The looser and winner usually went home missing some fur, a peace of mane, and bloody, the winner was always called back to defend his title, and each time someone won they had their meal hunted for them. Today two lions had at each other, and he recognized one, it was Ront, right away Tatter started cheering for his old friend. In the end the other lion was a mess, and Ront staggered over to where he was sitting.

He gave a half assed bow, "I though I heard you, you old bastard."

Tatter laughed, "Who are _you _calling old, I'd of had that guy down twice as fast as you."

Ront grinned, waving him into the ring, "Wish to take my championship away?"

Tatter patted him on the shoulder "oh how I wish I could but royal code refuses to let me fight for no good reason."

Ront laughed, "Care to join me in my victory dinner."

Tatter nodded, "Sure"

That night they shared there history since last time they met, including how Ront had run off with his pregnant wife to the southern pride of panthers.

"Pregnant wife?"

"Oh yeah, me and Konya have had a couple of kids, you gotta see them, there all twins, or triplets, whatever you wanna call them, and its two ladies and a guy."

"Poor guy." Tatter laughed

Ront shrugged, "He's got me to teach him, and I'm enough man for _anybody._" They laughed.

After they parted ways Tatter went home, on his way home he watched the stars, and remembered the day his father and himself and tried to use them to navigate home.

"Father," he said looking at them, "I don't understand but I feel something is more unfinished than we had hoped, as if you dying instead of me left something open. But what am I suppose to do?" He never got that answer that day, the stars where still silent.


	7. Chapter 6 & 7

ch6

Again he woke to the smell of sulfur and soot, but this time he woke to the gasps of his family as well. When he woke he looked outside pride rock and gasped right along with them, from the remains of the mountain of fire a single pyre of smoke rose into the sky, that's exactly how the mountain had started, he thought they had saved the world, how could it start up again?

"You got to go."

"What?" he said turning to his brother.

"I can feel it, it's calling for you, it wants you." Lien turned back to his brother and nodded, eyeing the fallen mountain in the distance.

Tatter could feel it to, but wouldn't accept it, "What, does it think I'm stupid?"

Lien shook his head, "It's your choice, but I have a feeling that if you don't go it will be worse than before."

"When did _you _start making predictions?" he gave his brother a look that said shut up.

Lien just nodded, "It's you're choice, please don't let us down."

He ended up stalking about the new ravine towards the ruins of the mountain. He knew that the mountain wanted him, he guessed he probably reflected more than his father's face now that he was older, he probably reflected his father's fate. When he arrived in the place two guard came with him instead of just one this time, there was a pyre of smoke, and it rose from a single glassy point, he drew closer to it and looked into it, he could see a reflection, but it wasn't his own.

As he watched it the royal guards that had come with him began to scream, Tatter looked back to catch a glimpse of nothing but bone left of the two, then it happened, a paw made of the liquid that inherited the ground crawled out, along with another. A face came out of the ground, and on that face a single scar, and the figure curled around tatter, "Finish it." It said in a whisper but evil voice.

Tatter pulled back pulling the watery figure out, it let go, and backed Tatter against the wall as it took solid form the form of dirt and land, yet its figure was unmistakable to anyone who knew the story, the story of the original scar. He had a sly smile on his face, "I will be reborn!" he yelled at the king, "and I will have your throne!"

"You're nothing, just my imagination."

But a paw that scorched the kings fur as it swiped at his face told him otherwise, the sly smile spread across the lips of the prince of darkness, "Oh little Tatter, I'm coming back, and hell is riding with me!"

Tatter ran, he ran out of area and the ravine, gathering some really weird looks from the guards on his way out. He ran home, and when he settled down, he didn't tell them a thing, yet the pyre of smoke from before had disappeared. Lien eventually took the obligation to ask, but Tatter wouldn't say a word.

Now going on twenty seven this still seemed a bit much for the king, he didn't want to have to defend his land from the super natural, what if scar did rise, how would he kill a demonic lion? If that wasn't enough something he had brought back with him caused one of Lien's mates to go nuts. He didn't say a word about it but he knew it was his fault, he had brought madness with him, and had accidentally brushed Maria on his way in, and she had become violent like he had been not too long ago.

Maria had started beating on the other lions, but it was when Brae stopped her from attacking Sam and Lien's cub that the king had to issue a ban for her from pride rock. He never thought he had been so scared in his whole life, him and his uncle where busy chatting up about future progress for the ravine when she snapped. Brae was used to it from Tatter's attacks, they thought they'd intervene when it got too dangerous, but Maria had instantly gone after the young white child, still not old enough to speak the young white lion had been backed into the corner and on Maria's eyes Tatter saw death, but Brae and caught her and drug her outside, where the king decreed her ban.

Lien wasn't all to happy to find there had been a ban placed on one of his mates but once his other girls told him what had happened he had told the other two how grateful he was. Tatter just felt like an ass, a year ago that was almost him.

He turned twenty seven and dreams started up, dreams like his father had, dreams of the end of the world, of a burning landscape, and a dream calling him back to the graveyard if he didn't want anything to happen to his lands. Yet he denied it, he didn't want to die anymore than any lion did.

But it was during a royal celebration, one in which he was thinking of announcing the new air as Lien's son, when he decided he was finished waiting. The festival was big, and everyone was in attendance. The king walked around with his guard and greeted his people, blessing some new children that the mothers wanted him to bless, and having a good time, until the condemned mountain let out one roar and a spark, scaring his people beyond all measure.

He saw their faces, wide eyed, most of them didn't want to abandon their homes once again, he saw them, and his heart filled with anger towards the land.

He held a meeting that night with his family; he knew he was going to break hearts.

"I know I've only been king for a short time now, and I am not leaving you forever, I hope, but there is something I must finish. I have a feeling I have to visit hell itself." He turned to Lien, "If I don't return I expect you to be a great king, and I expect you to raise the next great king." He said eyeing Lien's kid who was looking at everyone with wonder.

He turned to his mother, "I love you mom, and if I do come back, but dead, I want to be given a kings funeral, but I want it given under the tree you and dad married."

"Tatter, you won't-"

"I don't expect to, but we must be prepared." He rubbed up against Sandra who was starting to cry a little. "Don't cry, I swear if I make it out, I will marry you."

He was back in the ravine again heading for the graveyard where a new pyre of smoke marked his way. Partway down the ravine was filled with white smoke, he noted it was steam, pouring from several vents in the ravine, he guessed if he didn't succeed in turning the son of a bitch off now, they'd have to shut down the only legacy he deemed himself worthy of, he wouldn't let that happen either, every king had their legacy, Mufasa was the greatest king that brang peace to the land, Simba had saved his people, as had his dad, he supposed if he died doing this he too would be considered a hero.

When he reached the graveyard he refused to let any of the guard with him and ordered them to stay behind, less they end up like the last two that followed him in. The pyre again rose from the patch of liquid, and again scar rose from it, gathering a surprise grunt from the old member of the royal family, Tatter attacked, pushing the evil lion back into it, through it, and Tatter followed.

At first he seemed to flow through an endless supply of what smelled like sulfur, but then he hit warm dark sooty land, and looked around, he was in a cavern which only light was molten rock dripping from the ceiling and flowing through the ground like rivers.

He turned his head at what caught his eye, surrounding the river of fire was grass, blue grass he'd never seen the like off. This place was good looking in its own dark and mystical sense, of course his uncle would probably know the grass and its use, but he didn't care. Looking around the blue fields he noted several caves, yet no scar, he supposed his journey here would be long, he hoped his kingdom would hold up while he was gone. But that was on the shoulders of Lien now.

As he entered the first cave he gasped, from several spaces in the walls where extensions that he could only describe as memories of his friends. Or maybe it was the pride lands memories and he had only become part of it, because along the wall was a screaming head of a meerkat and warthog, of a bird recently passed, of his father, and his father's fatjer, of Simba and Mufasa, of his grandmothers and all the royal friends of the past. He prayed these where just memories and that they didn't all end up statues down here once they died.

At the end of this hallway he reached another opening, there in the middle was green bird, and it sang, but it sang with a human voice, and he gave it a weird look. It said something to him in human, and he didn't understand, it shook its head and spoke again, this time in lion.

"You seem loss young sir, can I be of help."

Tatter looked around the cave, "I'm looking for Scar."

"Ah one of his followers?"

Tatter shook his head, "I must stop him."

The bird gasped, "You wish to stop hell itself? Well good luck to you, but I can be of no help, except all I can say is watch your step, hell is not a place for a living soul, if you die here, your stuck here."

The king nodded, "I expected this much, listen, if anyone follows from my land will you tell them the king demands they go back, they'll listen." He said looking back the way he came; he didn't trust his people to leave this well enough alone.

As well he shouldn't for now Davine and some of his troops where trying to go through the water as they had seen the king. But as Davine guessed when the pyre of smoke went out the way in closed. It was still amusing to see his people try to get in, so he let it happen a little longer.

Out of nowhere there was a roar and Tatter dodged, he was facing a woman, a scar on her forehead not much different than his own.

"That scar," she muttered, "are you related to me?"

He scoffed, "Hardly, I'm here to see scar."

"Oh!" she purred in a high tone, "You're a follower, how nice, you look so majestic."

"Hardly, I'm here to stop him."

She stopped, lowering on her haunches, "I thought you looked too majestic, you're that little brat Tatter are you not?"

He nodded, and she leapt at him, he dodged and batted her aside, using his claws, but she took no wound, he didn't doubt that was because she was already dead.

"You will not stop my husband! He is the rightful air and he has been betrayed for too long." She leapt again and again Tatter dodged her.

"Listen lady, you all need to give it up, you're dead for god's sake!"

She surprised him buy bounding up around onto the ceiling and down onto him, he barely dodged for his life. "No! I will not be stopped, _we will not be stopped_!!!"

He felt a little blood trickle down the side of his snout and he noted his scar was open a little again, something that hadn't happened since he re-opened it so many years ago in a fit of anger and hate of himself.

"You're just a puppet," he said pushing the white strand of hair that got in his way again and slicking it back with a little blood, it finally held back for a while, "You'll never amount to anything."

She laughed, an evil cackle that sent chills down Tatter's spine, "Puppet, my dear boy, _I am the master_."

She leapt at him again, this time faster, he was forced to use the wall to escape, he ended up crawling through a steam vent, from behind him he heard an irritated grunt as the lioness was unable to follow. He had no idea where the steam vent lead, but he was soon in another cavern. Here where young lions of plenty, he guessed the deceased followers past and present, of scar, scar had quite a gathering.

"What a scar man," one greeted him, and then looked up at the vent, "you get _that _lost?"

Tatter let out a nervous laugh, "Yeah, something like that," he couldn't catch Scar around this group, Scar would have to much back up, he started off down the hallway that connected, and ended up back at the green bird.

"You pissed the misses off something bad," it squawked at him.

"Yeah well, I'm not going down there, lets try this hallway." He went down another.

This hallway shined with rocks much like the one his father had described as the crystal that had started all this, or at least predicted it. He watched the walls as he passed; it was like walking through the night sky. Some of them even glowed a little when he passed them buy, and he was grateful when he got passed that hallway. In the next space he gasped, it was a crystal figure, a crystal figure of his great grand mother Nala, he had never seen her but he knew it was, and it was crying.

"Nala?"

"My child," she cried, "my child oh Kiara where are you? Simba, is that you?"

He shook his head, the figure couldn't see, "No, I'm you great grand child, many generations have passed."

"Ah, Tatter yes? You must leave, this place is no place for a king, and you are king now right?"

He nodded, "It's not place for a passed queen either, how did you end up here."

Her crying started up again.

"Nala?"

"Push me." She said, her crystal figure sat on a lone rock in the midst of a ring of molten rock.

"But, will that release you?"

"Push me! Anything is better than here, Scar, he does things to me, I don't want to live here anymore even if that means I shall perish for eternity."

He nodded, his heart trying to steel his anger at scar, "I understand," he jumped over to the rock and used his head and shoulder to push the crystal figure, it went over with a bang and slid slowly into the fire, then a lion figure made of the molten rock in pain tried to climb out but sank back in. Then he heard his voice, "Thank you my grandson."

"Kovu?" he looked up an around, he hadn't known his grandfather.

"No, I am a king before his time, my name is Simba"

Tatter gasped, "The Simba?"

The voice laughed a hearty and loving laugh, "Well I guess _a _Simba, but that's not important. You must keep traveling, you _must _stop Scar before he is able to rise, for if he is able to rise the destruction the mountain caused will seem like nothing with hell itself rising to earth."

"But, where's my father, didn't he stop this?"

"I'm here" a familiar voice came to him echoing off the cave walls, "and we stopped the first wave, but you see, I was an aging lion, my life force was not the one needed to stop scar permanently, that's why the mountain, while in ruins, still exists, you see if you would have taken the burden I chose for myself it would be over, but we changed fate, and now we must finish it."

Tatter looked to the lava he had just pushed Nala's statue into, "Will I survive?"

"That is for you to decide alone," the most majestic of the voices came to him, it had to be Mufasa, that deep voice, "you are the king now and will be until you pass, you must stop Scar, and after that what happens to you is your decision alone."

Tatter looked up to the voice that came from everywhere, and bowed respectfully, then headed off further down the cave into another hallway, the hallways where all littered with crystals like that of his father, and each of them seemed to be singing a different song to him, but the song appeared only in his head.

Soon he came into a room and in the middle a giant crystal floated and turned, on one side of it shined light, the other side seemed to eat at light, and with the sides the crystals around the cave began to shine in the dark and extinguish in the light. He realized this was some kind of strange metaphor for night and day, he had no idea if it meant anything to him.

But has he stared into the crystal thoughts of his past came up, the thoughts of every girl that had ever treated him badly or betrayed him or refused him, and soon they where materialized. He felt anger well within his heart, and each of the lionesses looked at him with fear, as he snapped. He ran through them like the figments they where, but it didn't mean anything to him, for all he cared they could be flesh and blood, as he tore through one after the other with his claws they disappeared in a whiff of smoke, but Tatter imagined them lying lifeless, just as they had left him feeling so many times. There was that bitch summer, who acted all high and mighty, and that mean one Amanda, and after running through a couple he turned to the last, it was Nikita, and he dashed for her, he jumped, and as he looked into her eyes he saw true fear.

He stopped and sat, he looked at his paw and put away his claws, and then he blew at the apparition and it disappeared, "I'm past that love, and I'm past you too, sorry." He turned back at the crystal, "You won't be able to fool me, there's nothing here but me and you, and that's even if you are real.

But as he leapt for the giant orb the ground fell beneath his feet and he lost his purchase to push off, and he fell away from the world, away from night and day, and away from what seemed to be sanity.

A day passed as his brother was gone, and yet just as his uncle before him Lien missed his brother dearly, he knew his son was likely to be king one day, but he also noted that Tatter had taken a liking to one of his girls, and they could bear a king instead. But none of this mattered to him as he watched the morning sun rise beyond the horizon, and gave his silence to the breeze for his brother, he wished for him, upon all the past kings, to come home.

When Tatter woke though, there was no tomorrow, the place he was in was just as dark as before, and the only light was the orange the magma gave off. And he looked up to his father, who looked at him proudly, and he ran to his father and tried to hold him, but Jake disappeared in a puff of smoke, and he realized once more it was nothing more than an illusion. He cursed himself, and uttered one last goodbye to his father.

Turning about he saw only one hallway leading out, and he had no where else to go, he felt the deeper he went, the more permanent he would stay, but he would save his land if he had to kill the devil himself.

He entered a fiery room of every animal on earth, each in a bed of some kind of machine that held humans lions, dogs and pigs, and everything you could fathom. Each animal had darkness in his eyes; each animal had long ago lost hope.

"This is where they suffer." A voice spoke within his mind.

"What? Who are you?"

"The darkness, I run this place under the king of dark. These hooligans worse fear was to be sick, and the worse place to be sick was dreamt up from the strongest darkness within humans, so each of them is placed in this never ending stage to be sick forever!"

"What? Never ending, how do I get out?"

"Well its not never ending for you" he could feel it grin, and a doorway opened in front of him, a human doorway, he peered around the doorway and he could see the rode was never ending, but inside was a totally different place.

This place was a maze, the floor was of human construction, a tile of black and white, it littered the floors the walls and the ceiling, and he swore it looked as if any of the corners of the room could be stood upon.

"Fucks sake," the creature in his mind spoke up, "You're going to get yourself lost here."

"You brang me here!" the king growled,

"No," it corrected him, hissing joyously as he got toe teach the newcomer, "It is _you _who brought yourself here. The doors take you where you want to go."

"Well then I want to go to Scar!"

"Do you? You've been wandering a bit; I think you must find the door in this place, no more freebee's, this place isn't ever ending, if you don't get lost."

He did a good job at getting himself lost though, he spotted the same spots several times, started marking his ways, no one said it was cheating. Buy the time three hours passed he was at the end, but it wasn't a doorway, at least not in the normal way of speaking of one. Instead stood the man he searched for, a scar upon his eye, his matted mane majestic yet evil, yet he looked different than in his visions, something was wrong, this was not the man he was meant to face, at least not the one running the show.

The lion snarled, "You're that whelp's kid aren't you! I'll never forget him! Or your grandfather, who killed me." He moved around.

Tatter matched his movement keeping his distance, "Who are you?"

"I was once called Scar, but I am no where near as great as the original, your father once had at me, and got punished for it, and while he became my undoing I had the last laugh."

While the lion seemed to speak in riddles Tatter realized who this was, his father had many a night told him of the man who had killed the previous king, of the man that had started his father on his way to his hardships and basically onto kingship. This was no scar, but he was buy looks no longer ill, now he was a prince of this hell.

As he thought this the lion sprouted great black wings and over took the king, and Tatter rolled and pushed him off. The lion used his wings to flip and glide to a safe landing, laughing in triumph, "You can't kill me, I am already dead!"

He came at Tatter again and clawed him, and clawed him again, and roared in his face, the roar shattered the cave, the middle opened up and a circle of fire opened, but as tatters own circular marked eyes open, a new fire raged within. He pushed the dead one back with a mighty thrust and now was on the attacking. The fake Scar bounded off the cave wall and came at him again, and they where in arms clashing with each other. While the fake Scar never gained a wound, Tatter gained plenty, a new scratch under his eye in the shape of a moon, three claw marks into the side of his face, a bite on his neck, and the tearing of a bit of his mane.

He looked up breathing hard, the fake Scar hadn't even broken a sweat, and he eyed what the Scar had in his mouth, his eyes widening, the full strand of Grey hair hung from the dead one's mouth. "Fucker!" the king yelled, coming quickly at the dead one you tried to jump out of the way flapping his great wings, "I grew to like that part of me!"

Tatter dug his claws into the fake Scar's shoulders and pushed him into the ground, they tumbled, and soon tatter was on bottom, his head hanging over the new fiery pond, and the Scar was laughing, but Tatter just smirked.

"What are you grinning at dear boy?"

Tatter laughed, "I got you." And pushed his lower feet making the dead Scar tumble end over end into the fiery pit, he let out one final scream and went in a quick puff, almost anti climatic. The cave shook, and began to crumble, and Tatter was out the other side of it away from the maze before it fell in on itself.

This hall was littered with reflections, but none of them where his own, he saw reflections of evil of every kind, a human with a small moustache and no mane, rising his hand to the people, another one with an evil grin on his face in color, behind him a sign that read "mission accomplished" but at the last picture not long after Scar's and his followers, was a picture of just black. 

"That's me." The voice in his head spoke.

Tatter scoffed, "You don't show very well, need some color."

The thing laughed a hearty laugh, "Well smart ass, you see, all the people down the line that are evil are able to be evil because they got a bit of me in them, everyone has a bit of me in them, even you."

"No, I don't" tatter shook his head.

"Yes you do," the thing insisted, "somewhere in our hearts our darkness lies, now go beyond, I'm getting bored."

He entered the next room, into some new human contraction, a see through human was ushering people into a long metal animal of some kind with a long tube shaped metal exterior, and he too was ushered in. He noticed how unlike the other's here he was, the others where dulled, the senses, there smell, even there light seemed to glimmer less than him, he guessed because he was the only one here not dead. The thing let out a long toot and he sat on a cushy rock of some kind, like the humans, and they rode down a track, no one seemed to pay him any mind. But soon after leaving the train stopped, the door open, and a human pointed to him, "You're stopping here young master." He said in a voice he could for some reason understand.

The sign read the wings of hell, but it looked more like a human city, something he had only barely heard off, the only human formation he had ever seen had been as a kid and this was nothing like it. The street was made of the same square stones the buildings where. Here brighter but different creatures roamed, things born of hell. Some of them looked human but where more lively than the dead in the train.

The train roared to life behind him and took off, and he let himself draw into the crowd, getting a few strange looks from the things that lived here.

And he saw her again, but it was different, it was a different look for her, a noble sly look, but it was still Nikita, and this time she didn't look like an illusion.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" he screamed at her, and the lioness backed away in surprise, he got more odd looks from the odd townspeople.

"I beg your pardon, do I know you?" she asked, her eyes wide with wonder at the strange lion.

"What do you mean do you know me? It's me Tatter, you haven't forgotten the pain you caused me have you."

The lioness laughed, a small unfamiliar tatter, she looked like his x, but she sure didn't' sound or act like her. "You have me confused; you see my name is Lust."

He gave her an odd look, "Lust?"

"Yes, you see I appear to those that don't know me as the ones they lust after most, it's a quite useful spell, but as you can see it can backfire." She waved her hand, and the illusion of the beautiful lioness was replaced buy a dark hooded female human.

"I'm…I'm sorry, you speak lion?"

She nodded, "not really, but we all speak our own language and understand each other, it's the mysticism of this land, are you new?"

"Sort of, I guess I'm here looking for someone."

She bent down beside him and patted his mane, at first he tried to avoid her but he then let it happen, it was sort of relaxing. "Maybe I can help, who could a kitty like you so full of life be looking for down in this hell hole of a city?"

"Scar."

She stood, scoffing, "That outcast? You one of his followers?"

He shook his head, "No I must stop him!"

She eyed him warily, "Why?"

"He means to destroy my land, my people, and my kingdom."

Her eyes lit, "oh that's sort of so romantic, you a king?"

He nodded

"Wow, except for the royalty of hell I never knew any. I tell you what, Scar is not in this city but I can find you his mate here."

"She's here? I just fought with her near the entrance to this hell."

"Or did you? The only one of his kind that holds the gates is that whelp that came in a few years ago, I forget his name," she said turning, "what you fought of her was most likely an illusion, and if it was her she doesn't stay there forever, come, lets go see what the tavern is like tonight." She walked towards a sign bearing in some kind of language he saw he could read "Pub",

Inside smelled of wheat and the drink his father had taken, and there where things of all kinds, some of them working. He sat with her at a booth table, he took up on a chair so they could sit eye to eye, and the waiter brought them both something without asking, she had some kind of dark bubbly drink, and he had exactly what he wanted, a small bowl of iced water.

"What is this place?" he eyed the place

"A safe place." She answered

"And?"

She nodded, "a place for information."

As she spoke another hooded lady sat down, and drew back her hood, as did the one he was with. The one he was with had blue hair and pointed ears like he had never seen on the few humans he had eyed in his life, the other one with similar ears bore pink hair, they kissed each other passionately on the lips, and he turned a little embarrassed, all life forms showed affections in similar ways he guessed.

The girl he was with turned, "I am Torrotu" she said rolling the r's, "thought my normal name everyone knows be buy is Lust, and this is my mate for life, Kinkli, we are of an ancient, now extinct on the earth you come from, race of elves. She is also my informant."

The pink haired woman nodded, "and I got what you called for, she has been spotted in southern city stalking about the children camps again, while the guards shooed her off their afraid she might be a little angry at something tonight."

"I got away" Tatter mumbled,

"What?" Torrotu asked

He shook his head, "Nothing, can you show me this children's camp?"

Kinkli nodded warily eyeing the lion/.

When they exited he was surprised to see it storming, the ladies put there hoods back on to break the rain, and the sky above them was lit with flashes of lightning, he never thought weather happened here, but he never thought he'd be here in any form, neither did he ever expect to be conversing with humans. They walked down the town, away from the train station to what seemed to be the south to his senses, and near the end they entered a cul-de-sac, the stone cobble had a tent where children of every form of being seemed to be playing, it was a joyous occasion for the kids, but not for the freaks that where forced to entertain them. The things entertaining them had the dark glimmer and the smell of the dead on them and he guessed this was their punishment.

The place was all so dream like, the kids running in circles amongst the dark alleys and roads, the people of all different kinds, everything was beyond this king's most wild imagination, but once he shook his head clear he had one goal. "Where is she?"

Almost as soon as his lips had formed the question the yellow pale lioness stepped out of the shadows, her eyes crazed, her mouth foaming, growling. The kids temporarily forgot there fun, and ran for cover, and Tatter was out in front of the two ladies ready to take on the princess of darkness.

"You again!" she growled

"Let's finish this!" he said

She lowered her head in anticipation, "With pleasure, ever since your great grandfather stole the kingdom I wanted to kill his kind, it looks like I'll finally have the chance!"

And she rushed at him, and he dodged, and swiped, and blood came from the claw marks on her cheek, and matted his paw. He looked back to the humans who had relocated on the side of the road. "I hurt her?"

Torrotu nodded, "Here anything can die, but if it is already dead when it does it disappears forever."

"Careful," her mate called to him, "for if you die here as a living being you will be trapped in this city forever!"

The lioness came around for another go, and he easily dodged her and gave her matching marks on her other cheek, she turned back to him, her eyes narrow, her face matted in blood, growling, "Why can't I kill you?"

"Maybe it's because I am a king, maybe it's because you're a pathetic outcast, or maybe it's just because I'm a man." He said smiling at her with the joke.

She growled at this and jumped at him, but instead of trying to land on him and receiving another claw to the face she landed an inch in front of him her paw to the ground. "Fool, here I might be mortal but I still have my power!"

Tendrils of smoke poured from the cracks that began for form in the streets, cracks that started from her paw, buildings behind him collapsed and an alarm he had never heard in nature started to rise in the distance. "I will have my kingdom!" she growled, "I _will _be queen."

Tatter shook his head, nobly rising above her on his back legs ignoring the smoke and came down upon her, his hand pushed against her neck, and he mouthed her head as she gasped in horror, he dug his teeth into her skull until he felt and tasted of the meat of her brain, and felt her dying breath.

Taking in a big sigh and liking the blood off his lips, he looked around him; the southern part of the city he was near was in ruin because of their fight. The girls who had helped him stood in amazement watching the lion, his mouth still dripping with the lionesses blood. "I need to go." He said

"But where?" his second new friend asked, "You didn't get any information out of her before killing her."

He nodded, "I know exactly where that waist of a lion is going to. My home."

Torrotu used a car she had gained in this land, a flying vehicle of some kind, to rush him back to the beginning, she only prayed that lions didn't get car sick, and he only prayed he wasn't too late.

Three days now since the king left, and his brother was getting tired of his job, but when he saw a pyre of smoke begin to drift out of the deceased mountain he knew something was wrong. What he saw when he got there filled him with fear, invading his pride lands from the mountain where dozen's of lions, and with them came hyenas, he amassed his troops, and unlike many kings, Lien, who only filled in for his brother, came to fight.

When Lien met Scar on the battle field in the middle of both of their troops, he was amazed buy the lions dark aura, yet let down buy his physical appearance. "My, the last of an era of kings, I suppose your brothers toast buy now." He purred

"What would you know?" Lien growled, his uncle to his left, his mother to his right, the lions and lionesses of the kingdom about him in behind.

"I know the land I came from, and that land will overrun yours, give up and I may let the other lions live."

"Never." Lien growled

"Fine then," Scar smirked, "I'll kill you after you watch your son die!"

Lien jumped at him, "Never threaten Triton!"

And after the two started at it the other lions and hyena's joined in, what was unfair is everyone on Scar's side had already died once. No matter how many time's Lien slashed him or bit him he never became wounded, and all he did was laugh, louder and louder.

Torrotu dropped Tatter off at the beginning, and Tatter stared up into the small water hole from where he entered. He thanked his ride and jumped into the portal, and came flying out his other side. His world was transforming again, smoke filled the air, and somewhere above the ravine came the cries of dying and fighting lions. When he climbed to the top he was too late, while several of the hundreds of lions including his uncle still stood within the midst of battle not one of Scar's had fallen, and Scar stood over the lifeless and throat less remains of his brother.

"Lien! Brother!" he cried rushing to his side.

"Oh how touching, I see you must have avoided all my stooges, and my wife, I must chastise her when I get done here."

Tatter looked up growling, darkness within his eyes, hate filled his heart "You have no wife to chastise."

Scar looked at him with wonder, than realization, "No, you couldn't!"

"I did, in the city, she's dead scar, as is your prodigy!"

Scar leapt at him and sliced his cheek open, but Tatter held his ground.

"Why won't you scream in fear?"

"Because scar I don't fear your weakness."

Buy know all the other lions and hyena's of either side stopped fighting and where watching the main show, a showdown of king and king over the blood of a dead prince. At first it seemed Scar would get the better of the king, he slashed and bit, and he made hole and cut after cut, and Tatter did nothing. But to Scar's dismay Tatter just kept on smiling, and when scar was open he reached up, and tore into scars chest, and scar drew back, but in Tatters paw held one slowly glowing rock. It was red, as was his fathers.

"What is that?" Scar asked, his eyes widening.

"It is your bind to this world, without this you will be cast powerless back into the pits of hell!"

"No!"

Tatter crushed it, and Scar vanished, all his lackey lions and hyena's vanished along side him, all that remained where the living and dead of the present day. Tatter turned to his brother, a brother of many ladies, a brother that didn't deserve death, and lied down nuzzling and crying into his mane.

Lien's family did come up, and grieved for the lost prince as well, and in the middle of the field, as rain began to fall, they cried loudly for their lost friend and family member. It wasn't until his dad spoke to all of them that they stopped, the rain took shape of him, and he touched his son. "My son, I can not bring back, your brother." He paused, "But he will be here with us, he deserves to be known as great a king as anyone, his short reign he proved himself to the ages, and to the gods." He touched his son and several of the small scars erased from existence on Tatter's muzzle and brow, even the white strand of hair grew back. "I can even take care of this," he said reaching for Tatter's large ageless scar, but tatter stopped him.

"No, dad, this scar, it's me, it's about what I've become and what I will do, it is as much king as me, I'd like to keep it along with this annoying strand of hair." He said batting it out of his face.

Jake nodded, his form fading, "Give my son, a great burial." And he was gone

Tatter looked down to his brother's lifeless form, several of the lioness where still grieving him, some had watched the show, some where too distraught buy his loss, but all looked at Tatter when he rose to his paws, "I will give him a royal funeral." and he roared his brother's name for all the lands to hear.

That night they burned his brother's carcass, and he gained a family, as well as a wife, while Sandra was taken has his foremost mate he gained the respect of all Lien's former mates, and he took Triton in as his own son, raising him, yet always telling him stories of his true father who died at too young an age.

Ch 7

The years went on, and Tatter watched his nephew grow under his guidance, when Triton was six, barely able to start talking, Tatter taught him something his father had passed onto him, Push the rock. He had great things imagined for this kid. His kingdom re-grew, and his lands replenished, and on the third anniversary of the death of his brother the fire mountain collapsed in on itself, without power it had grown old and began to rot, now it was nothing more than a pile of rocks that commemorated a great battle and the loss of a hundred or so lions.

As his idea for the market became more popular so did his land, he drew more alliances than ever; they all wanted to be his pride land's friends. He no longer had fits of anger, headaches, bad dreams, or any of his old ways since loosing his father, destroying Scar's last chance had destroyed the disturbance in fate he and his father had caused.

One starry night he took his nephew out to the pride rock, and sat with him, and looked towards the stars, and spoke of his brother, spoke of his past, and spoke of his father and the king before him. He told his nephew, his new son, of the things he knew big and small, and how much he missed the boy's father.

The kid rose as the sun sat and stood on his uncle's paws, looking up to the stars that began to fill the sky, "But dad will be watching over us, wont he, even when I become king."

Tatter smiled, nuzzling his nephew "As will all the greatest kings of the past, your father was one of the greatest."

Fin


End file.
